So, I am holding in my hands the new release from Pedro the Lion (aka David Bazan). It comes in both CDEP and 7" form, and both have their benefits. The 7" features two songs, "June 18, 1976" and "April 6,
2039," and comes packaged with a wonderful softcover children's story, stapled in the spine. The illustrations are somewhat small and in black and white, but well done. The story, "A Guitar for Janie," is about an 8-year-old girl named Janie, and the experience she has trying to have a good concert for her stuffed animals. It is really cute.
The CDEP version of the cd has a plain and really cold, hard look to it with the back information given in HTML format. However, to make up for the missing children's story, he has included radio session versions of two songs off his previous albums, "Of Up And Coming Monarchs" and "Letter From A Concerned Follower," along with the songs on the 7".
"June 18, 1976" and "April 6, 2039," are both quite depressing. The fact that these songs are sad songs shouldn't come as a big shock to anyone who is familiar with Pedro the Lion, but these songs seem even
more depressing than a lot of his others. The songs are about two different dates in time and the events that transpire on them. Overall, though, they are songs sung by someone (the character in the songs, not
necessarily Mr. Bazan) who seems to has lost all hope about the future and how technology affects us socially. So, since I happen to love depressing songs, and I love the way David Bazan tells stories, I think
this is really wonderful. I loved what Pedro did on their last album, and this is along the same lines.
The 2 extra tracks on the CDEP are nice as well. They are very similar to the original versions, with the only real difference being that they are played with only acoustic instruments. They are a nice addition to
anyone's collection. So, the eternal battle between CDs and Vinyl continues....
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