The Stories of Pedro the Lion

After 15 years, Pedro the Lion has been reborn and in more ways than one. A Phoenix represents the rebirth of a magical bird, while Phoenix represents the reuniting forces of Pedro the Lion with their musical mixture of indie rock and their narrative subjects that are filled with political and religious overlay. Phoenix dives into a whole new series of raw stories that emerged after a trip back home. These stories will tug down your heart strings while your own experiences come along for the ride on the back of the guitar strings.

Pedro the Lion was formed by David Bazan in 1995 and they’ve produced four conceptual albums until 2006 when Bazan went off to work solo while partnering with other bands such as Headphones and Lo Tom. Bazan regrets this on his blog, “I didn’t realize what calling my music Pedro the Lion again would mean to me, but it’s re-connected me to parts of myself and my history (both sonic and personal) that I had lost touch with.” It is clear that Bazan uses his music to keep a record of stories that have impacted him in life-changing way.

As an English major, I was intrigued by Pedro the Lion’s way of storytelling and their use of simple phrases to provide vivid imagery and metaphors that paint a puzzle piece and leaves you wanting more. Luckily, Bazan is a conscious writer and continuously references motifs from his past songs into this new album, adding another link to the story. Bazan told Exclaim! in an interview about what he learned from The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo, “you must assume that every syllable is totally intentional and that if there’s a contradiction that you see in the poem, you should assume the contradiction is there for a reason,” Bazan uses this idea in his writing and leaves clues to other stories by alluding to his discography, creating an intricate puzzle for his audience to discover.

Bazan alludes to his past songs from previous albums, his own solo albums, and even Phoenix itself. Bazan almost uses this as a footnote tool to address past events and emotions he wants his audience to recognize. Black Canyon acts as an insight to Pedro the Lions Priests and Paramedics, a band trademark performed at every live show. Black Canyon is a story of his Uncle Ray, a paramedic, responding to a man who walked in front of an 18 wheeler. Both songs from past and present addresses these traumatic experiences to shed light on how fragile life is, and we should “tell them your stories.” Bazan uses this new track to explain some of the inspiration that produced Priests and Paramedics while giving insight to events that have impacted his perspective and his origin story.

Bazan is bringing back techniques he used early in music, instead of cluttering his stories with synthesizers like his past albums. The beats of the drum evoke anticipation, while the guitar riffs act as lines on a page for the story to fall on. These techniques are reborn on Phoenix to provide more focus on the lessons that come with each story. The music creates a platform for how the story is received, where mellow and echoed sounds address a more serious topic, while fast guitar riffs address a situation that evokes panic. Pedro the Lion strategically picks the rhythm to compliment the narrative and Bazan’s powerful voice does its magic to invite you into his world of stories.

"Yellow Bike" and "Circle K" have a sing song type of rhythm that makes you want to clap your hands as if it was a schoolyard rhyme game, complimenting Bazan’s childhood memories of riding bikes and visiting convenience stores. Pedro the Lion creates sound images by matching “my heart thumping in my chest” with the thump of the drum that puts the audience in his place of childhood freedom.

Bazan reflects on specific traumatic experiences that has made him who he is today. In "Questest Friend," he addresses his own experience of being a bully, how he “took the devil’s bargain, and made a stranger to myself.” Now that he is older, he is ‘"listening" to the reality of bullying and the effect it has on others. Bazan’s teaches his audience to reflect on their past experiences with an open mind and reconsider their faults to encourage self-growth from a touchy subject.

"Piano Bench" creates an intimate setting as if you are sitting at the piano with Bazan and his parents. Bazan moves the audience through his atmospheric memory with deep trumpet sounds and the echo of each piano key that create long pauses to put ourselves in his story. As Bazan returns home in Tracing the Grid, he remembers all his favourite family stories, and how “they showed me how i’d always be.” Bazan makes it easy to feel and imagine these moments where he is moved by the power of music and the intimacy of family.

Throughout the album, Bazan references biblical stories and his experiences with religion. "Powerful Taboo" addresses the temptations of good vibrations, which led to the forbidden fruit and the fall of Eden. These good vibrations represent the underground trash metal music he found at a Christian bookstore. This was the first step of leaving his religious background and discussing the flaws of Christianity in his music. In My Phoenix, Bazan identifies his family’s vision of Christ as his visions enemy, while he says goodbye to the All Seeing Eye as digital scatter and helicopters create a sound-visual of an apocalyptic morning.

The final song, "Leaving the Valley," combines all of these experiences while telling his story of leaving Phoenix and moving into Model Homes he imagined earlier in the album, adding another footnote for his audience. Bazan reflects on the Lord’s power to both give and take away, leaving us with a haunting guitar that fades in and out until there is white noise where our thoughts of the album live.

Journaling is an important tool that many writers use to create intriguing stories, and Bazan takes full advantage of this. Phoenix holds personal and intimate stories about Bazan’s life, but it is written in a way that provides a platform to jog your own hidden memories. Pedro the Lion is not only a band that creates an elegant mix of indie rock music, but they are genius storytellers that teach intimate life lessons about self reflection and confrontation.