David Bazan has always been a better-than-average lyricist, but between his penchant for concept albums and his rep as a devout Christian, he still remains sinfully underrated. Now that he has abandoned his Pedro the Lion moniker and his relationship with Christ, he has only gotten better.
Curse Your Branches ditches his indie-rock tendencies in favour of more traditional rock arrangements. Most noticeable is the inclusion of keyboards, which softens things up considerably. It may be a tough transition for longtime fans, but ultimately it puts even more focus on Bazan’s voice. When he sings its “hard to be a decent human being” on the album’s leadoff track, it sets the tone for the delicate balance of heartbreak and cynicism to follow. “Please Baby Please” may be overwrought, but it still levels you with a sucker-punch twist and “Harmless Sparks” deals with spiritual darkness in a way that is surprisingly subtle, given its overt nature. The album is best summed up by the boogie-based rocker “When We Fell” — redemption is possible, but often never achieved. In that sense, even with a new musical direction, Curse Your Branches is the album that is most quintessentially Bazan. The smiling instrumentation becomes the perfect ironic counterpoint to tell the story of 10 tortured souls.
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