David Bazan/Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

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More About

• Pedro the Lion
• David Bazan
• Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
• Christian Rock
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

In 2006, Pedro the Lion's David Bazan (who essentially was Pedro the Lion) retired the moniker and struck out on his own. His first recording was Fewer Moving Parts, a ten-song EP that was actually just five songs (each song was recorded in both acoustic and electric versions). It didn't sound all that different from a Pedro the Lion album, which was to be expected, with the familiar melodic power pop in the vein of Death Cab for Cutie, Tom Petty, and matt pond PA still fully intact. Further separating himself from the dreaded "Christian rock" label that plagued Pedro the Lion from time to time, and was unfounded to begin with (occasionally singing about your relationship with God after growing up in a household where secular music was banned until early adulthood does not a Christian artist make). He seems a bit more playful of late (the "serious musician" label is somewhat less unfounded) but that's hardly a knock—it means he's becoming more comfortable in his own skin. Bazan, it could—and should—be argued, is one of our greatest living songwriters, and he seems to be getting better with age. He's not an unpolished gem as much as a bright, shining diamond who has yet to be discovered by most. With Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.
Tue., Sept. 4, 8 p.m.