PEDRO THE LION
Achilles Heel
(Jade Tree) 

David Bazan is a Christian who also happens to be an alternative rock artist (or is that the other way?) But hey, don’t stop reading! Relax, there is nothing evident on Achilles Heel that would associate Bazan with the Contemporary Christian Music scene, instead, like any artist worth his salt Bazan creates from the heart and soul.

Tthe full-band instrumentation on Bazan’s latest suggests a greater affinity with bands like Galaxie 500, Acetone, Mojave 3 where a Neil Young predilection is filtered through what can be best described as space country! Lyrically, Bazan retains the insightful aspect despite eschewing the folkie approach.

Thus, the incongruous bouncy rhythms of “A Simple Plan” belie the dark undertones of the subject matter – “We fought for a decade corruption and greed/It gave me a purpose a reason to breathe/But now that it's over now that we've won/It's back to my bedroom alone with a shot gun;” the lilting gentle manner of “Forgone Conclusion” contains a rather unconventional couplet – “And you were too busy steering the conversation toward the Lord/To hear the voice of the Spirit, begging you to shut the fuck up/You thought, it must be the devil, tryin’ to make you go astray/And besides, it could not have been the Lord because you don't believe he talks that way” and the driving loveliness of “The Fleecing” which features a down-to-earth dissertation on faith – “And who shall I blame for this sweet and heavy trouble?/For every stupid struggle?/I don't know/I could buy you a drink/I could tell you all about it/I could tell you why I doubt it, and why I still believe.”

Much to savour here, especially for fans of the modern singer-songwriter genre and surely, David Bazan is up there with the best. A+ www.jadetree.com