Pedro the Lion: Control: CD

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Control (CD)

Pedro the Lion

[Cover]

Label: Jade Tree Released: 2002
Price: $13.99

Seattle's PEDRO THE LION (aka David Bazan) deliver Control, the band's third full-length album, which follows up 2000's Winners Never Quit. This time around, Bazan has recruited the help of SELDOM's Casey Foubert to share the burden, resulting in a collection of songs which play darker, fuller, and sometimes much heavier than any of the band's previous releases.

Control is the loose, raw tale of a hyper-modern marriage gone wrong. Wrapped inside the song more intricate and mature arrangements, fans will find Bazan's trademark lyrical wrangling pushed even further to the side of heartache, cheating, misery, and fear. On the BEDHEAD-friendly album opener "Options," Bazan sets the stage, singing: "I could never divorce you, without a good reason, and though I may never have to, it's good to have options." Later, on "Unoriginal," the biggest of the rock songs in the newly updated Pedro the Lion catalog, a nasty betrayal is revealed. Critics might finally be persuaded to stop labeling the band a quiet, folky outfit. In the end, the wife stabs the husband. What's left with is yet another of Bazan's efforts to set up expectations for peace and harmony, only to show those expectations failing wholeheartedly.

Tracklisting
Disk \| 1
1	Options
2	Rapture
3	Penetration
4	Indian Summer
5	Progress
6	Magazine
7	Rehearsal
8	Second Best
9	Priests and Paramedics
10	Rejoice

User Reviews

	Ben - Portland, OR, USA
The album is indeed a masterpiece. This is one of the more ambitious works to come out of the last few years; it's a concept album about a cheating husband and how he and his family deal with the situation. He takes on different characters' roles and he demands an emotional investment from the listener, with a tragic ending. I hate that David Bazan is often labelled a Christian Musician. He's an open-minded Christian who makes great music dealing with all facets of life; stop throwing him into that bad category simply because he's public with his faith (how many faith-based groups write an entire song about an orgasm?). This album also rocks harder than any other Pedro albums - just check out songs like Rapture or Second Best. If you like deeply involving concept albums, I think this is a great pik.
	Tom Speaker - Beavercreek, OH, USA
It is a lyrically perfect record. Conventional listeners might scoff at lines such as, ''I could never divorce you/Without a good reason,'' but it fits very well into what Bazan projects, as he studies the similarities between American marriages and corporate culture. ''Rapture'' is prurient but beneath all its triple-X-ing there is something else; we can hear the pain in David Bazan's voice as the narrator philanders. "Penetration"'s egalitarian attitude is questionable, but the immanent anger makes it very real. ''Second Best'' is Bazan's most disabling track; it will probably be the most miserable song you ever hear. Best is ''Priests and Paramedics,'' where a priest comes to wonder of life's point while giving an elegy at a funeral. The record fails to be perfect because of ''Progress,'' which doesn't match its original version and never reaches the peak it requires. Nonetheless, for your lesser, more bitter moments, ''Control'' is ideal.
	Blake Wescott - Seattle, WA, USA
What a self-indulgent asshole.
	John - Chicago, IL, USA
Sometimes I wonder how these people are hired to do reviews. I have so far read two reviews that have panned this album including the one above and one review that said it was nothing short of brilliant. I will second the brilliant vote. The reason most reviewers will not like this album is because Bazan's brilliant satrical lyrics are directed toward most of the people reviewing it. Christian or non, we are in a society of grossly loose morals and when someone comes along and sings about something other than partying, girls, or something distant such as sweat shops in Bangladesh we squirm in our seats. "Control" is a concept album for the modern relationship. He confirms the truth that Americans view marriage as nothing more than a convienience and when it is no longer that, it is time to move on. Bazan picks apart the very society we live in and the average moron on the street defines it as "preaching". My advice is to get over your personal animosity toward God and accept this album for what it truly is...brilliant.