Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan goes solo!

I sat at work the past few days contemplating which new release to review for this assignment. Should I go poppy and show people I know what’s going on? Maybe do a Senses Fail or Gym Class Heroes review? Or, should I show my worth and stick to some underground and obscure artists? Then, all of a sudden, while listening to the radio it hit me! Here in the wasteland, a.k.a. Nebraska, we have very little choice of radio stations and I heard a booming voice from a farm implement commercial talking about some new piece of farm equipment that boasted “fewer moving parts” and then I knew!

“Fewer Moving Parts”, an EP featuring the latest work of David Bazan, is the best musical and lyrical effort from the mastermind behind Pedro the Lion. According to his website, Bazan recently retired the band name Pedro the Lion to focus more on his solo career and his side-project Headphones. Bazan recorded and mastered “Fewer Moving Parts” at his home studio in Seattle. The album is only 5 songs short, but has dual recordings of each version; a full band collaborative effort and Bazan’s solo version.

The topic of his recent move to a solo artist is the subject of the title track of the album. In the song he explains his reasons when he sings “should I really re-consider
my reasons for going solo…’cause I still run the show, and don’t you forget it,
so I had to let some go, don’t think I don’t regret it, because I do
and I don’t think I’m better off alone, man I could have had a big sound,
but I love to let my good friends down.” Bazan clearly shows the dualistic nature of his writing style where he capitulates between different view points, not unlike some Pedro the Lion songs such as “Foregone Conclusions” and “Big Trucks”.

The rest of the album deals with a bevy of topics. “Cold Beer and Cigarettes” equates the manifest destiny of white America to that of Satan and his quest of reproduction. “Backwoods Nation” is an anti-war ballad where Bazan belts out “We're calling all rednecks to putdown their sluggers, and turn their attention from beating the buggers, to pick up machine guns and kill camel ****ers,” with the clear voice of sarcasm and condemnation. There’s “Selling Advertising” which reads as a one sided conversation to a friend who is in the advertising business. Finally, “How I Remember” deals with Bazan’s awkwardness in social situations and how the human mind forms memories. All lyrics come with Bazan’s own special dash of Godliness and spirituality but doesn’t come off preachy.

For fans of: Pedro the Lion, Cap’n Jazz, Bright Eyes

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