edit: the whole record is available to stream on Relevant Magazine’s The Drop
Anyone who has read me for a bit or had much of a conversation with me knows that I am a big fan of David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion fame). Out tomorrow, September 1st is Bazan’s new album Curse Your Branches. There’s been a lot of interesting press, including this excellent article (which is well worth reading). In that sense, there are a lot of people who are much better at writing and reviewing music than I will ever hope to be that have commented on this new CD. Regardless, I will attempt to throw my hat in the ring and offer some thoughts on what I find to be a very interesting album. To set the stage for anyone who is unfamiliar with Bazan, it is notable to know that he has worked hard to remove any sort of Christian label on his music. In an interview in 2005 he said “I have faith that to the degree God does exist, he’s not this vindictive little b—h Christianity has made him out to be,” going on in the interview to call himself an agnostic. Curse Your Branches in my opinion more than anything else is a cd with that thesis.
Curse Your Branches opens with Hard To Be, (lyrics below)
you’ve heard the story / you know how it goes / once upon a garden / we were lovers with no clothes / fresh from the soil / we were beautiful and true / in control of our emotions /til we ate the poison fruit
and now it’s hard to be / hard to be, hard to be /a decent human being
wait just a minute / you expect me to believe / that all this misbehaving / grew from one enchanted tree / and helpless to fight it / we should all be satisfied / with this magical explanation / for why the living die
and why it’s hard to be / hard to be, hard to be / a decent human being
childbirth is painful / we toil to grow our food / ignorance made us hungry / information made us no good / every burden misunderstood / so i swung my tassle / to the left side of my cap / knowing after graduation / there would be no going back / and no congratulations / from my faithful family / some of whom are already fasting / to intercede for me
because it’s hard to be…..
And with that begins Bazan’s sharpest critique of Christianity to date. What follows are a collection of brilliantly written songs poking at some big problems that anyone must deal with in regards to belief and Christianity. In Bless This Mess (video below, if your reading this on facebook or a reader you may need to visit my website), Bazan uses the material of the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes in a different direction, including the lyrics “god bless the house divided / god bless the weeds in the wheat / god bless the lamp lit under a bushel.” In effect turning some of the language on top of itself.
At other points in the album Bazan ponders humanity’s fall, difficulties with alcohol, bearing witness as being intellectually honest, and getting along in life if there is no God who created humanity. For those unfamiliar with the record, it will be surprising to learn that although the topics are so dark and serious, the music is very upbeat and it is almost unbearable to not tap your foot or sing along. To date, this album is near the best of Bazan’s writing. It features a much fuller musical accompaniment than any of his other albums, giving a much fuller feel than any of the Pedro the Lion albums.
The album finishes with In Stitches.
my body bangs and twitches / some brown liquor whets my tongue / my fingers find the stitches / firmly back and forth they run / i need no other memory /of the bits of me i left / when all this lethal drinking / is to hopefully forget / about you
i might as well admit it / like i even have a choice / the crew have killed the captain / but they still can hear his voice / a shadow on the water / a whisper in the wind / on long walks with my daughter / who is lately full of questions / about you
when job asked you the question / you responded “who are you / to challenge your creator?” / well if that one part is true / it makes you sound defensive / like you had not thought it through / enough to have an answer / like you might have bit off / more than you could chew
It serves a fitting end to the album by Bazan admitting that he is still haunted by the idea of God but is pretty hesitant towards any sort of belief that doesn’t allow him to question.
It seems a little odd at first feel, being a pastor recommending an album that is all about doubting God. But as you could guess from my post on a David Dark quote, having faith in faith, I am not at all thrilled about promoting a faith that is not open to us wrestling with hard questions. And that is precisely why I feel this album is so prophetic for the church, whether or not that is Bazan’s intent. It presents hard questions that must be asked and wrestled with, questions which aren’t served well by pat or condescending answers. Listening to Bazan’s album causes one to have confront these issues in the face, there is no getting around them. And that is why to me, many Christians need to hear this album – it presents questions which we must take seriously (and if many of us are to be honest, must also confess we wrestle with). And in that regard, this album is a must listen.
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