Thirteen years after Pedro the Lion decided to call it quits, frontman and mastermind of the project, David Bazan, returns with the fifth Pedro the Lion record, \u201cPhoenix.\u201d Bazan set the standard for indie singer-songwriters, in the emo vein, in the late 90s. The band inspired every class of emo musicians that have followed. These include the likes of Manchester Orchestra, Foxing, Sorority Noise, Julien Baker and countless others. In December 2017, I had the privilege of seeing Bazan open for Baker, right around the time he announced the project\u2019s revival. It was an experience I will never forget \u2014 specifically, the sentiment of what it must have meant to Julien to have one of her heroes open for her in her hometown.<\/p>\n
While Pedro the Lion is known for their religious undertones and political statements, \u201cPhoenix\u201d is a record that looks inward and backward, towards Bazan\u2019s past. The album is based on his childhood experiences in Phoenix, Arizona, and is the first of a trilogy of records centered around his the places he has called home throughout his life. Nostalgia flows heavily throughout the veins of the album, sweet and reflective of the lessons and moments learned and earned. In an album about growing from your root, Bazan\u2019s religious background weaves throughout.<\/p>\n
\u201cYellow Bike\u201d starts the record off in a warm glaze of sunlight, as Bazan reminisces on the bike he received for Christmas at 6 years old. Throughout the course of the track, he goes from learning to ride the bike, to touring and living life on the road. The song is one of recollection; being alone on the open road gives one the time to spend in thought. The track is a perfect vehicle, driving into a retrospective concept album. The open road is a welcoming place with the newfound promise of freedom and opportunity but lonely and contemplative for the one who travels alone. The chorus displays the drive of the song, starting celebratory and ending the realization of the need for companionship, \u201cBut I remember what it was like\/ Astride my yellow bike\/ First freedom, second life\/ All the places I could ride\/ Leaving early packing light\/ That little ache inside\/ My kingdom for someone to ride with.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second track, \u201cClean Up,\u201d uses the age-old childhood lesson of cleaning up after yourself and applies it to self-reflection and sobriety \u2014 a catchy and uplifting song about owning up to your mistakes and getting back on your feet. Removing the harmful and self-destructive things in our lives gives us a clear head to enjoy what we have and even enjoy ourselves a little along the way. The third verse encourages everyone to take steps of self-improvement because we\u2019re all in this fight together.<\/p>\n
Tracks like \u201cPowerful Taboo,\u201d \u201cAll Seeing Eye\u201d and \u201cPiano Bench,\u201d the short hymn remembering his grandmother playing piano in church, take a slight dive into the positive and negatives of Bazan\u2019s Christian upbringing, while \u201cQuietest Friend\u201d is an introspective song that takes a look at self-denial and betrayal. Mentioning bullying and self-deprecation, a young boy makes a fool of himself to fit in. The track cuts to the quick and speaks on a topic that everyone can relate to in some way. Denying parts of yourself in order to fit in is almost as selfish as it is self-destructive.<\/p>\n
\u201cModel Homes\u201d uses Bazan\u2019s Sunday afternoon childhood memories of looking at model homes and flips it into a metaphor of longing for a greater purpose. \u201cCircle K\u201d is a tender story of young Bazan blowing all the money he had saved up for a skateboard at Circle K. It\u2019s a sweet sentiment of children who don\u2019t think through all of their decisions and can be translated into Bazan\u2019s adulthood.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Phoenix\u201d centers around the betrayal of your town, the changing of a city that seems to have turned its back on the ideals that it once had. The words, \u201cMy Phoenix still shines\/ My Phoenix will rise\u201d takes an optimistic view of the place you grew up and the potential to rise above the wrong you\u2019ve done. With driving guitars and melodious chanting, the track takes an immediate stance, almost a call to action, to provoke a momentum for improvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeaving the Valley\u201d ends the record on a bitter-sweet, triumphant note of Bazan\u2019s recollection of moving away from Phoenix. It the lead up of the guitar into the chorus, \u201cHow do you stop a rolling stone?\/ How will you know you’re finally home, finally home\/ How many canyons will you run\/ Before your face warms in the sun, in the sun\/ Before you’re finally home, finally done running.\u201d It ties the record up nicely, looking at back at your childhood and how the lessons you\u2019ve learned have affected you and experiences mirror throughout the various aspects of your life.<\/p>\n
Bazan has a talent of storytelling through personal experiences that draw in the listener and tell a moral that the audience isn\u2019t always expecting, much like Bazan\u2019s own childhood experiences have done for him. Pedro the Lion has risen from the extinguished flames, like a phoenix rising from the ashes and created a solid record that is worthy of repeated listens. Bazan basks \u201cPhoenix\u201d in the warm rays of the Arizona sun with childhood memories that leave you with a light tan but never make your skin peel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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