Assuming that our readers have encountered at least one, probably many interviews/reviews of Pedro the Lion rehashing the Christian aspects of the band, we can skip directly to the fact that Control is probably going to be one of the best albums of the year. While containing its share of hooks, the album succeeds, not on being particularly musically inventive, but being an extremely bitter, yet catchy well-thought out album. Like the Magnetic Fields, Pedro works within conventional song structures while writing lyrics that are consistently memorable. Also like the Magnetic Fields, David Brazan has chosen to tackle love on this album, only through a businessman-cheating-on-wife-while-making-dirty-business-practices angle. This results in "Rapture", the best song mixing sex and religion since Prince, "Penetration" with a chorus so catchy you will sing it anywhere without regard to its crudeness, and "Priests and Paramedics", probably the bluntest song about death ever. If you have no tolerance for thoughtful lyrics, the Green Album should suit you well, otherwise Control will reward both your pop and moral sensibilities.
1. Options
2. Rapture
3. Penetration
4. Indian Summer
5. Progress
6. Magazine
7. Rehearsal
8. Second Best
9. Priests and Paramedics
10. Rejoice
More about: Pedro the Lion
