From listening to all the previous Pedro the Lion albums, I can make a few characterizations about the music that singer/lyricist/guitarist Dave Bazan makes: it sounds just right, it does a masterful job of storytelling, and it is controversial. The new album Control lives up to all of these standards to an even higher degree than any previous Pedro the Lion CD.
For those who have missed out on Pedro the Lion all these years, they are a three-piece band from Seattle who have been described as emo, folk, and rock. Somewhere in between those genres is where the music generally lies, normally subdued and melancholy, fitting perfectly with Bazan's voice. Dave Bazan is a Christian and this has a natural effect on the lyrics. However, Pedro the Lion's lyrics are FAR from your average Christian band. The songs are incredibly honest, dark, controversial, and sometimes even depressing--but they always serve to make an incredible point.
The music on Control is a progression from Winners Never Quit. The songs have a tendency to include much more distorted guitar and upbeat rhythm than Pedro fans may be used to. This is not at all a bad thing. "Penetration" is an incredible rock song in its own right and the breakdown of the musically and emotionally heavy ballad "Second Best" conjures up reminders of Stavesacre.
On Control, as on the previous outing Winners Never Quit and the debut Whole, Bazan has penned a story to song. This time the story is a bit more subtle, however and takes quite a few listens to piece together. Even before the story is understood, the songs all are terrific on their own, a quality that Winners Never Quit didn't quite pull off.
This time the character has bought into the idea of corporate America in a heartbreaking way. In "Options", the protagonist is walking on a beach with his wife when he lets out the preposterous words "I would never divorce you without a good reason/ though I may never have one, it's still good to have options/ But for now I need you." As the song proceeds we realize that this encounter was imagined and never happened, but it paves the way for the selfishness contained in the actions of the protagonist throughout the story. In "Rapture" we see the immediate results of this selfishness as the protagonist becomes involved in an affair. "Penetration" shifts to a full on look at corporate America, the possible culprit for the protagonist's problems, and makes the painfully honest assessment "If it isn't making dollars then it isn't making sense/ If you aren't moving units then you're not worth the expense/ If you really want to make it you had best remember this/ If it isn't penetration then it isn't worth a kiss." The song "Indian Summer" shows how the protagonist's mindset may affect his children and in fact how he himself may have become set on this "American dream": "All the experts agree you ought to start them young/ that way they'll naturally like the taste of corporate cum." "Progress" allows a snapshot of the problems going on in the protagonist's family while "Magazine" looks at the foolish idea of beauty equaling success. In "Rehearsal", the protagonist's adulterous affair is discovered by his wife: "It's priceless when you say you have to work late/ When we both know you're at a motel." The protagonist is humbled and in "Second Best" he comes to grips with his failure, yet returns to adultery nonetheless: "Second best/ Oh, second best I can learn to live with this/ 'Cause I really need a lift/ After all what's wrong with second best?" Realization is made in "Priests/Paramedic" that "We're all gonna die/ could be fifty years, could be tonight." All of the success that the protagonist hoped to build up is lost as "Rejoice" says, "Everything's so meaningful/ But mostly everything turns to sh**."
The topics that Control centers on are difficult ones to digest. Specifically with the theme of adultery running throughout the story, many Christians may be offended by this album. It's important to remember that this is not a "Christian album", but it is made by a Christian. Dave Bazan is trying to get a message across to listeners that digs to the heart of the problem, and doesn't simply focus on the symptom (which many Christians surely will focus on themselves when they hear some of the colorful language and suggestive lyrics on Control). For the listener who can look past the outside of Control and take a look at its substantive inside, there awaits an incredible album to be consumed; an album that could almost be considered perfect. That's right ladies and gentlemen; Pedro the Lion has outdone themselves once again.
5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2003Reviewed by David SongDavid Bazan was the driving force behind Pedro the Lion, a Seattle band described as indie/emo rock. Eventually, Pedro the Lion stripped down to Bazan and his guitar, but with Control, there is no sign of him stopping or slowing down. But while Bazan might seem to Christian indie rock what Relient K is to punk, or Zao was to hardcore, Control contains exactly the kind of material that consumers…Decapolis March 2002Reviewed by Scott HatchWhile billed as a departure from the standard Pedro the Lion format, Control basically carries on in the same manner as the traditional cannon. Granted, the drum beats are increasingly complicated, there are more keyboard parts, and the album more fully rocks out than previous efforts. The influence of Bedhead's Transaction de Novo is still present, but much less than on It's Hard to Find a…Decapolis March 2002Reviewed by Matt ModrichThis is probably one of the most depressing albums of the year. It's even darker than David Bazan's 2000 release "Winners Never Quit." Which is surprising considering that album was about a political candidate who bought his way into office and killed his wife because she was going to rat him out. His latest project "Control" tells the story of a man who has an affair and is later killed by his…ReAL Magazine 2002Reviewed by Jeremy KeillorLyrically this is the edgiest CD by a "Christian" band. Ten songs tell of a marriage gone wrong. Always the enemy of easy answers David Bazan leaves the listener with the lines, "wouldn't it be wonderful if everything were meaningless but everything is so meaningful and most everything turns to s***" Musically there is a tougher rock sound with hints of punk on a couple songs. My opinion: get…Opus 2002Reviewed by Jason MoreheadWhen I think of Pedro The Lion, two words come to mind... Thomas Kinkade, the so-called "Painter Of Light™." His paintings are idyllic little settings that usually involve a lighthouse, small cottage, or gazebo set in a perpetual springtime where it's always Sunday morning. There's usually a pond or creek nearby, and gardens just bursting into bloom. Everything is bathed in a soft, tranquil…Similar sounding releases
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