Achilles' Heel

ACHILLES HEEL is a great leap forward for Pedro the Lion (the group is really singer/songwriter David Bazan's project--he plays most of the instruments, with help here from guitarist Casey Foubert and multi-instrumentalists James McAlister and TW Walsh). Distinguished from Pedro's earlier releases in its unified musical vision and superior songwriting, the album has an expansive, floating feel, but the whole is remarkably straightforward and intimate. With the exception of the slick, meandering rock groove of "Keep Swinging," the set is largely characterized by mid-tempo tunes featuring Bazan's vulnerable voice and literate, detail-packed lyrics.
Bazan's debts to Neil Young and grunge rock are evident here, but there are allusions to alt-country as well. (One can hear the influence of Will Oldham hovering over the proceedings.) There is also a dash of dark, emotive post-punk (as on the wiry, sad "I Do," and the sweeping "A Simple Plan"). Elsewhere, pop melodicism appears in the respective guises of country-rock and heavy-lidded pop-rock on "Foregone Conclusions" and "The Fleecing." Bazan's lyrics, which explore a world of personal doubt, spiritual crisis, and troubled hearts, are both perceptive and profound, and--along with his gift for melody and earnest expression--make ACHILLES HEEL an especially notable release.