David Bazan
Strange Negotiations
Barsuk
2011
Rating: 7 silky manes out of 10
It seems like all the talk over the last couple David Bazan (aka Pedro the Lion) solo records is how he's turned away from God-Christianity-religious business. And no doubt that religiosity brought a lot of listeners to his tunes, but it wasn't the be-all end-all. I'm about as far from religious as you can get and I've loved the dude's music for well over a decade. Because his lyrics were never hit-you-over-the-head with their higher power praise like most all contemporary christian music, Bazan also gathered a rather healthy roster of secular fans, so to that group this talk of change doesn't add up to much. All that really matters is one thing - are the songs any good?
Yes. Yes the songs are very good. They're very David Bazan/Pedro the Lion. Old fans who don't really give a shit about lyrics (aka myself) aren't even going to notice much of a difference. It's mostly introspective electrified folk music, with the occasional upbeat rocker (the track "People" fits this description nicely, and is a great track). Bazan's mostly monotone voice is still there leading the way, and you could easily stick one of these songs on an older record and never miss a beat.
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