Curse Your Branches is the first full-length album by David Bazan, the front-man of the indie rock band Pedro the Lion. It was released on September 1, 2009, on Barsuk Records.
| Curse Your Branches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2008–2009, Bazan's home studio, Seattle, Washington, United States | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, Folk rock | |||
| Length | 36:42 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Barsuk (bark83) | |||
| Producer | David Bazan | |||
| David Bazan chronology | ||||
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Background and release edit
The album was recorded from early 2008 to mid-2009 by David Bazan in his basement studio near Seattle, Washington. Additional recording, mixing, and mastering was done by long-time collaborator and former Pedro the Lion member T. W. Walsh at his studio in Massachusetts.[1]
The same day as this album was released, Bazan also put out a single covering Bob Dylan's "The Man in Me" backed with Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah".
Critical reception edit
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 82/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[4] |
| Robert Christgau | A-[5] |
| Drowned In Sound | 8/10[6] |
| Paste | 8.9/10[7] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[8] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes |   [9][9] |
On review aggregator Metacritic the album holds a score of 82/100, based on 19 critic's reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."[2]
The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and #116 on the Billboard 200 the week of its release.[10]
Track listing edit
All songs written by David Bazan, except where otherwise noted
- "Hard to Be" – 6:23
- "Bless This Mess" – 3:57
- "Please Baby, Please" – 3:49
- "Curse Your Branches" – 3:34
- "Harmless Sparks" – 2:30
- "When We Fell" – 3:40
- "Lost My Shape" – 3:44
- "Bearing Witness" – 3:13
- "Heavy Breath" – 3:19
- "In Stitches" – 4:33
- iTunes Store bonus tracks
- "The Man in Me" (Bob Dylan) – 2:55
Personnel edit
- Additional musicians
- David H. Bazan – piano
- Andy Fitts – vocals
- Casey Foubert – pedal steel guitar
- Yukki Matthews – bass guitar, electric guitar
- James McAlister – percussion
- Josh Ottum – lead guitar
- John Roderick – vocals, guitar
- J. Tillman – vocals
- T. W. Walsh – bass guitar, mixing, mastering, engineering
- Blake Wescott – vocals
- Other personnel
- Bob Andrews – photography
- Christian Helms and Renee Fernandez (The Decoder Ring) – cover art
References edit
- ^ "Davidbazan.com — Curse Your Branches Mixing & Mastering Notes". Retrieved March 1, 2015.
- ^ a b "Curse Your Branches by David Bazan". metacritic.com. Metacritic. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ^ Andrew Leahey. Review: Curse Your Branches at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ^ Josh Modell (2009-09-08), "David Bazan: Curse Your Branches", avclub.com, The A.V. Club, retrieved 2024-04-28
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1 March 2010). "Consumer Guide: March 2010". Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ Tom Perry (2010-01-29), "David Bazan – Curse Your Branches", drownedinsound.com, Drowned In Sound, retrieved 2024-04-28
- ^ Paste Staff (2009-09-01), "David Bazan: Curse Your Branches", pastemagazine.com, Paste, archived from the original on 2024-04-28, retrieved 2024-04-28
- ^ Mehan Jayasuriya (2009-08-30), "David Bazan: Curse Your Branches", popmatters.com, PopMatters, archived from the original on 2024-04-28, retrieved 2024-04-28}}
- ^ a b Jason P. Woodbury. "David Bazan – Curse Your Branches". tinymixtapes.com. Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- ^ "Curse Your Branches' Billboard.com chart profile". Retrieved 11 September 2009.