The religious aspect is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, since Brand New was very prominent in the post-punk revival of the late 2000’s that heavily featured a lot of fairly religious bands and a lot of bands that wrote lyrics questioning the religious scene in which they first took hold. Underoath, Thrice, etc. were all a huge part of the West Coast emo/metalcore scene that also drew a lot of Brand New listeners, but Brand New was never a religious band, although they shared the stage and toured with a lot of bands that were (at least at the time).

It should also be noted it was later found out that while this album was being written and recorded, the songwriter, Jesse Lacey, was grooming and abusing an underage fan, so the themes of hopelessness and wishing for redemption should also be viewed through that lens. If you can handle that context, the entire album is a masterpiece.

Agreed. However, it can’t be denied that he wrote some tremendous music, and knowing the context of his actions actually lends the lyrics to this album a lot more meaning.