Vanguard:
Pedro the Lion - Achilles Heel
By S. Zekovitch
Pedro the Lion is a plethora of perfectionism
seamlessly stitched into a patchwork of art. As David Bazan’s
surface is perforated with raw emotions and tightly gripped tension
flooding his very existence, he directly applies this puissant creativity
towards every angle of his pieces . In doing so, this moxie is evidence
of his role as the engine behind Pedro the Lion. With that being said,
that is why he, in my opinion is one of the most compelling songwriters
of today. Even though his voice is unrelentingly monotone, you can’t help
but want to auscultate what his droning voice has to say. Well that was
my impression when I had first listened to Pedro the Lion’s very first
debut back in ‘97 titled Whole EP, which I found to be
a very thought provoking album.
There were some religious references that
pointed out the inner turmoil Bazan faced with his convictions, in which
he was debating whether to do away with religion altogether or stick to
his roots. Whereas other moments he were plotting a facetious act
for the sake of sarcasm. But often you wonder how does the guy stay sane
in a somewhat scrutinizing society? In all honesty here you have
a great specimen that demonstrates how one can possess such strong convictions
and not label everything he does as being Christian. Bazan’s faith naturally
permeates through their material, without making it an issue of propaganda,
which makes them stand out from the rest of the flock in the same
genre.
Often there are specific types of food
that can only be fully enjoyed with an acquired taste, which I believe
also applies with this type of music. As I had mentioned before his voice
is incredibly insipid, perhaps even torturous to the point of no return.
As much as I wanted to embrace his words it took a while for me to adjust
to Bazan’s voice. In the beginning it was so irritating that I constantly
felt both mentally and physically constipated at times, gradually the music
began to sink into my veins and more appreciation for his voice sweetly
blossomed.
As the music echoed through
the halls, I then began to realize he sang the way he did to compliment
his lyrics suggesting, a mournful individual who was there to tell
of his stories, reflecting upon an epic in which was of his own design.
Somewhat nostalgic of Homer’s Illiad in a sense because of the tragedies
that followed in the shadows of each and every character that helped weave
the unforgettable web of memories latched to every accounted event. Which
also led me to believe their choice of title for this album. As I recalled
in the Illiad, Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus and the Nereid
Thetis. After the birth of Achilles, his mother desperately desired her
child to be immortal, in doing so she held the young
Achilles by the heel and dipped him in the river of Styx. According to
legend anything that touched the sacred water instantly became invulnerable,
unfortunately for Achilles his mother forgot to dip his heel, leaving it
as his sole weakness. Prophesied that Troy could never be vanquished without
his help. As a result of his mother distress over the foretold
premature death of her beloved son, it left her no choice, but to place
him in the court of Lycomedes in Scyros disguised as a little girl in hopes
he would never be found. Unfortunately, the brilliant Odysseus uncovers
Achilles disguise and wins over his aide. It was after the death
of Patroclus, Achilles close friend was killed and stripped of his armor
under mistaken identities, which lit the fuse to the cannon. Enraged with
turbulent animosity he vowed to desecrate the body of his foes. In the
end he got his revenge, but as the oracle unfolded the predicament always
followed, with Priam’s son, Paris (guided by Apollo) struck a bow at Achille’s
heel, which would succumb to his end. Even after his death his legacy remained
untarnished as Homer’s hero of the Illiad. Therefore, leaving me to believe
that Bazan wanted to remind us that everyone has a weakness, including
epic heroes.
Achilles Heel still maintains the elements
of Pedro the Lion's typical simplistic style of wry allegories sprinkled
with a dash of macabre humor. Unlike their previous album the sentence
structure appears to be much longer than usual, but the way he fractures
them is what astounds me most. It’s a very well known concept that most
pop music consists of repetitive refrains, which is the pivotal ingredient
for a catchy song. However, Bazan’s works rarely ever possess this characteristic
and in doing so his lyrics are strong enough to stand on their own.
For instance, "Discretion" is a story of
a patricide while "Transcontinental" dictates the final moments of
a man being dismembered by a train. In a first person account, he vividly
paints a very agonizing image of his dignity and pride dangling on the
string of fate: “I remember, as I bleed, certain tails of bravery/ A man
whose legs were crushed beneath a fallen evergreen tree/ He decided he
would chop them off above the knee/ Sacrificing shins and feet, to make
his torso free”. On another note, in the sixteenth century, a man by the
name of Thomas Moore wrote of an imaginary island in which he named after
the Greek word for “nowhere”. And from then on this imaginary island would
be known as Utopia. However, this so-called “perfect society” would draw
criticism from the great Karl Marx later on. Marx found fault in Moore’s
depiction of this great society because there were no scientific explanations
to support his ideas. And so from there on spawned the birth of the “Communist
Manifesto” where Marx and Freidrich Engles would supply Moore’s society
with an in-depth explanation. Ironically Marx’s vision of a communistic
society and his ideologies would greatly differ that of its practicality.
Proving that the ideal egalitarianism will never exist universally nor
end mankind’s dread, which I believe is what had inspired Bazan to write
“A Simple Plan”.
In conclusion, this album was as thought
provoking as the their prior album releases, keeping a lot of the old elements
that helped mold PTL. I also developed a lot of respect for David Bazan
because the ever changing lineup and that Bazan is the only original member
in the band. After the departure of all the members Bazan has single handedly
kept the band’s name afloat by recording and producing most of the material
himself. That’s what I call a dedicated musician. Overall the album was
pretty good, like always his sincerity shines through his material. He’s
not out there to impress his listeners with catchy tunes nor conform his
listeners with his convictions. As a writer he writes to tell a story.
A Story that will open your eyes to a different tune. He writes from his
heart and breathes his thoughts into your ears. He is a storyteller. Although,
whether you could tolerate his voice is another story, but it’s a pretty
inspirational album if you ask me.
CD Info
Pedro
the Lion - Achilles Heel
Label: Jade
Tree Records
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