Customer Reviews

It's Hard to Find a Friend

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It's Hard to Find a Friend (Made in Mexico, 1998 and Jade Tree, 2001), Pedro the Lion's first full-length album, is characterized by mature lyrics, sparse but well-crafted music and an overall sound that rivals any Emo album on the market. It's the sort of album that makes a great impression the first listen and doesn't cease to make you marvel in any of the next four hundred listens. I'll try to put my finger on the brilliance of this project to explain why I recommend it to just about everyone.

Pedro the Lion is basically a one-man band fronted by David Bazan, a Christian who writes from a refreshing perspective of broken humility. The first EP he recorded was released by Tooth & Nail Records but since then he has signed with secular labels and tours mostly in secular venues. I see as many non-Christians as Christians at Pedro the Lion shows in my area. This is simply because Bazan is one of the finest craftsman in the Emo/Lo-Fi genre of Rock music. He's not merely the safe, Christian alternative to some popular secular act.

The instrumentation on It's Hard to Find a Friend is very clean. On every track I can pick out each instrument (typically electric guitar, bass and drums) and follow along with it. The sparse music isn't necessarily slow, some songs have a noticeable punk influence, but it seems as if each chord, each stroke was thought through. Instead of bombarding listeners it provides the right amount of music, a true accompaniment to the lyrics.

After this album, Bazan begins to start writing thematic albums, but It's Hard to Find a Friend is about a variety of topics. "The Longer I Lay Here" is a confession of slothful ambivalence: "I would like to be you just for a few habit-forming years / laziness cuts me like fine cutlery / I need a miracle - someone to help me help myself." "Big Trucks," which may be Pedro the Lion's most popular tune, narrates a father teaching his son about patience and forgiveness with highway analogies. "Bad Diary Days" documents love going sour and "When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run" discusses the futility of our looks-oriented culture.

Sacred topics are also prominent on the album. "Of Minor Prophets and their Prostitute Wives" is a lyrical exploration of the first few chapters of Hosea. "I treated you as if you were a princess / you treated me like a cop / I gave you boundaries to save you from certain death / dangling from the end of a rope ... but you're still playing for a love you'll never find / outside these arms of mine / the whole town is one step behind you / with the hangman on call / they've got the judge and you're convicted without a plea / darling, they will listen to me." Similarly, "The Well" is a short account of John 4.

"Secret of the Easy Yoke" is a song about wrestling with faith and the Church. The refrain reveals a simple plea, "could someone please tell me the story of sinners ransomed from the fall? I still have never seen you, and some days I don't love you at all." The song fades out with Bazan softly singing "Peace, be still," the words Jesus used to calm the raging seas. The last song, "Promise," ends the album with a short, fast-moving confession of faith. "From what I've seen so far / I can't believe my eyes / and what a nice surprise / if I look up and the sky's not there / is there any reason that I should be scared? / But a promise, is a promise, I know."

It's Hard to Find a Friend unashamedly tackles relevant topics most Christian musicians would prefer avoiding. Bazan's honest portrayals of faith and life make this album a must-have for Christians and seekers alike.

Possibly Pedro's most upbeat and hopeful cd packs an emotional wallop as he deals with the issues of faith, fullfilment, the progress of time, relationships and ghosts from his past. Few artists would have the courage to totally expose themself through their songs. Each song is deep and beautiful in its own way and David Bazan has an incredibily expressive voice. The songs seem to be created so effortlessly and have a natural grace. Bazan deals with his faith in a different way than most so called Christian groups, he does not preach. His music stresses a personal relationship with God, and the struggle it takes to have faith and believe. Songs like "The Secret of the Easy Yoke" and "The Well" deal with religious issues. "Promise" ends the cd with hopeful optimism and Pedro shows that he can rock. However, the other upbeat sounding songs "Big Trucks" and "When They Really Get to Know You...." are perhaps my favorite. However, they are all excellent and one can't help but sing along. Jade Tree did a good deed by re-releasing this classic. This is a must by for any indie music fan.

judging from their reception at cornerstone 99, pedro is not the unknown band they once were. the show was packed out and their new ep sold out once again - just like last year at the same fest, the same tent...trying to get my hands on the ep was really hard to do! i searched from july of 98 till march of this year for this lp. and it was worth the search!

their style is minimalist, but their lyrics are so right on! songs like "big trucks" and "when they really get to know you they will run" go beyond the normal christian music fare.

they're not getting radio play, but they don't need it. they have a following all over this country...and news spreads by word of mouth.

another plus is, is if you write to them, they'll send you something back! (try and find out....) they aren't rock stars....they're pedro. and that's just darned irresistable...

"The Secret of the Easy Yoke," moved me to tears and I am not a Christian. The honesty, the questioning, the doubt and the belief make this song one of this important band's most powerful statements. Musically simple, but like a great Beethoven melody, has the power to move mountains.

The first time you hear this, you may hate it, but keep trying. Pedro is not the most accessible band out there. In fact, I'd say that out of all the songs on here, the only ones that musically jumped out at me at first were "Promise", "Big Trucks", and "When They Really...". However, after about four listens, you'll remember all of these amazingly simple and amazingly catchy songs, and find yourself singing right along. And really, this isn't even about the music as much as the lyrics, which are beautiful. They're straightforward stories that offer hope and give a glimpse of God's love to our hurting world, yet they also have an authenticity that other artists usually don't convey, particularly other Christian artists. I highly reccomend tyring this album out, you'll fall in love.

David Bazan (and his "band") performs live in Chicago sometimes, and while his fans are often crazed, Bazan is anything but. "Does anybody... have any questions?" he'll mumble into his microphone, squinting into the dark.

And Bazan's music is no different. Always shy, low-key, often dismal, and sometimes wildly humorous, his simple melodies and spoken-word style lyrics never fail to leave listeners startled at their own rush of sympathy. It's Hard to Find a Friend chronicles Bazan's struggle to keep from backsliding into a past full of addictions when his own world -- and his most beloved -- seemed to be falling apart.

Harder than finding a friend, of course, is finding real *sincerity* and worth in today's indie rock scene, what with tongues perpetually in cheek and emotions permanently in check. Even so-called "emo" bands have contrived, phony words, and manufactured emotions sulk behind every riff.

David Bazan is a true contrast to those falsehoods. His music is straight-up folk, somehow belying a certain torment resting in its punk rock roots. And Bazan himself is a real blessing: while he IS world-wise, he is by no means world-WORN. Pedro the Lion's frontman leaves cynicism on the stoop; his songs are a testament to faith that the broken human spirit can heal, endure, and prevail.

This CD took a long time to grow on me, but once it caught on, it really hasn't left my CD player for more than a day or so. I can listen to this CD over and over and never get tired of it; I believe I listened to it ten times straight once and still had a deep emotional reaction from the music each time. I am a non-denominational born-again Christian, and this album is what I've been looking for: honest, realistic, truthful music which discusses the struggles and doubt which we all experience as Christians. Music by many Christian artists is frequently of very low quality both lyrically and musically, giving "Christian music" as a whole a very bad name; musicians who are Christian (such as myself) truly dislike that. I sure hope Pedro doesn't get pigeonholed into that genre and written off. Unlike other Christian artists who only talk about the happy parts of the Christian life in a misguided attempt to convert other people to Christ, Pedro the Lion sings about the things we all experience in our lives, yet manages to point the listener towards the goodness Christ, especially on the last song. However, this album still can and should be appreciated by non-religiously oriented folks, due to the fact that it doesn't ram religion or spirituality down the throat of the listener--it just makes it clear that the singer does indeed believe in Christ, and he is not afraid to say that.The highlights of this CD are...well, every song actually, because each one is very powerful and moving in its own way. It truly is hard to pick a standout track, so I will not even attempt to. The music on this CD isn't exceptionally intricate or innovative, but it is a perfect backdrop to set the mood for the thoughtful and moving lyrics of each song. I have reccomended this CD to all of my friends, both Christian and not, and I cannot state with my limited vocabulary how impressive this CD is.

"It's Hard to Find a Friend" is quite an album. David Bazan writes clever, emotional lyrics that truly show he's put thought and energy into his work. The music itself is solid; the instruments are played well, and the sound has a simplistic feel that serves the as a structure for melody, adding even more emotion to the song. Frankly I think the music was done nearly perfectly; Pedro the Lion is not much more than a guitar and drum, and the album is a result of that. It shows that you don't have to have a glamourous image to make music; it shows that you don't have to be eccentric to have emotions. Pedro the Lion is what rock and roll is all about in my opinion. Its not about the money, or the fame, or the fans, or the critics, or anything like that. It's about the connection between the musician and the music, and the feelings that are drawn out from the former by the latter. David Bazan is one of the few musicians I have heard that really demonstrates that he has this connection.

man, i just got this album a few weeks ago. i find instead of listening critically to it, as i do too much, from the very beginning i found myself completely lost in the music. the guitar and bass create the simplest of melodies, but interweave perfectly. they never seem to hit the same notes, but dance around each other. and then there are the vocals... i don't know what it is about them, but everything he sings i feel so much. i am as nonreligious as they come, but when he sings about his faith on 'the bells' anyone will be enraptured. and then on 'bad diary days', about a man in denial while his girlfriend cheats on him and how he must eventually face up to it... on the ninth track, with the conversation between father and son (which i rarely get through without crying), and my personal favorite, 'big trucks', the closest thing to the perfect pop song i've heard..it never ceases to amaze me. do yourself a huge favor and listen to this album.

This is the only Pedro the Lion cd I own, but not for long. It just touches you deeply. When I first received it, I just listened to a couple of songs I had heard before. I then placed it on a shelf and allowed it to collect dust. A few weeks later, however, I stumbled upon it and listened to it completely. I was amazed at how good it was. Now I, too, listen to it at least once a day. If anyone is reluctant to buy this because it's been branded "christian," don't be. I'm not Christian, and I love it! It's not at all preachy. Best song (in my opinion): "The Longest Winter."