Control (Pedro the Lion album)

Last updated

Control
Ptl-control.jpg
Studio album by
Pedro the Lion
ReleasedApril 16, 2002
Recorded2001
Genre Indie rock, emo
Length40:18
Label Jade Tree (JT1072)
Producer David Bazan
Pedro the Lion chronology
Progress
(2000)		Control
(2002)		 Achilles Heel
(2004)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 75/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Pitchfork Media (7.2/10) [3]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [4]

Control is the third full-length album by Pedro the Lion. It was released on April 16, 2002 on Jade Tree Records. It is a concept album about a businessman who has an extramarital affair, and his untimely death at the hands of his spurned wife. It reached number 36 on the Top Independent Albums chart. [5]

Contents

Music and lyrical themes

Like its predecessor, Winners Never Quit , Control is billed as a concept album. It covers such subject matter as infidelity, parenthood, greed, commercialism, vengeance, and fear of death. [6] While not autobiographical, Bazan has described the album as being about his "disappointment with the world and how it works." [7]

Musically, the album departs from previous recordings, with a greater emphasis on rock music, including distorted guitars, synthesizers, and loud drums; in its retrospective review for the album's 20th anniversary, Stereogum described the album as "the heaviest Pedro the Lion album, both in tone and sonically." [6] Bazan has suggested that the heavier nature of the album was due in part to pressure he felt from the record label to write songs more similar to the faster pieces from his earlier albums. [8]

Others have described it as more aggressive, darker, and intense than previous albums, [9] with more overtly sarcastic and cynical lyrics. [10] On Control being darker than his previous work, Bazan stated that his parents were "especially concerned" about the album. [11]

Critical reception

Tiny Mix Tapes gave the album five out of five stars, citing the songs' catchiness and memorable lyrics. [12] In a 2008 retrospective review, Sputnikmusic similarly gave the album a five out of five, designating it a "classic" and praising it for its sincerity and simplicity. [13]

Pitchfork gave Control a score of 7.2 out of 10, despite mostly critiquing the album's lyrics and sluggish tempo. [14] AllMusic reviewer Adam Bregman describes the album's songs as "strong," though views it as delivering nothing new relative to the band's previous releases. [15]

Bazan has remarked on this album's lyrical content being divisive among his Christian following, noting several instances of fans chastising him for their interpretations of the album's lyrics and themes during the Control tour. [16]

Track listing

All songs by Bazan except "Penetration" "Magazine" and "Second Best", which were co-written with Casey Foubert.

  1. "Options" – 3:56
  2. "Rapture" – 3:26
  3. "Penetration" – 3:55
  4. "Indian Summer" – 3:21
  5. "Progress" – 4:09
  6. "Magazine" – 4:01
  7. "Rehearsal" – 3:48
  8. "Second Best" – 6:00
  9. "Priests And Paramedics" – 4:35
  10. "Rejoice" – 3:11

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Control by Pedro The Lion". Metacritic . Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ Bregman, Adam. Control at AllMusic
  3. ↑ "Pitchfork Media review". Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  4. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  5. ↑ devops (January 2, 2013). "Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Pedro The Lion's 'Control' Turns 20". Stereogum. April 15, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  7. ↑ Ross, Alex Robert (February 22, 2019). "David Bazan Remembers Everything". VICE. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  8. ↑ "David Bazan from Pedro The Lion, Headphones and Coolidge". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  9. ↑ Morehead, Jason (April 20, 2002). ""Control" by Pedro The Lion (Review)". Opus. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  10. ↑ ever, worst idea for a magazine (June 12, 2024). "Control by Pedro the Lion — paragraphs on music". Medium. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Interview: Pedro the Lion". Nada Mucho. June 16, 2002. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Music Review: Pedro the Lion - Control". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Pedro the Lion - Control (album review ) | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  14. ↑ Pitchfork. "Pedro the Lion: Control". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  15. ↑ Control - Pedro the Lion | Album | AllMusic , retrieved April 18, 2025
  16. ↑ "Pedro the Lion Interview July 2002". True Tunes. May 14, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
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