Curse Your Branches

Last updated
Curse Your Branches
David Bazan - Curse Your Branches.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1, 2009
Recorded2008–2009, Bazan's home studio, Seattle, Washington, United States
Genre Indie rock, Folk rock
Length36:42
LanguageEnglish
Label Barsuk (bark83)
Producer David Bazan
David Bazan chronology
Fewer Moving Parts
(2006)
Curse Your Branches
(2009)
Live at Electrical Audio
(2010)

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.

Contents

Background and release

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

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 82/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [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 U+25CF.svgU+25CF.svgU+25CF.svgU+25CF.svgU+25D0.svg [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

All songs written by David Bazan, except where otherwise noted

  1. "Hard to Be" – 6:23
  2. "Bless This Mess" – 3:57
  3. "Please Baby, Please" – 3:49
  4. "Curse Your Branches" – 3:34
  5. "Harmless Sparks" – 2:30
  6. "When We Fell" – 3:40
  7. "Lost My Shape" – 3:44
  8. "Bearing Witness" – 3:13
  9. "Heavy Breath" – 3:19
  10. "In Stitches" – 4:33
iTunes Store bonus tracks
  1. "The Man in Me" (Bob Dylan) – 2:55

Personnel

Additional musicians
Other personnel

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References

  1. "Davidbazan.com — Curse Your Branches Mixing & Mastering Notes" . Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Curse Your Branches by David Bazan". metacritic.com. Metacritic . Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  3. Andrew Leahey. Review: Curse Your Branches at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  4. Josh Modell (2009-09-08), "David Bazan: Curse Your Branches", avclub.com, The A.V. Club , retrieved 2024-04-28
  5. Christgau, Robert (1 March 2010). "Consumer Guide: March 2010" . Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  6. Tom Perry (2010-01-29), "David Bazan – Curse Your Branches", drownedinsound.com, Drowned In Sound , retrieved 2024-04-28
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 1 2 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.
  10. "Curse Your Branches' Billboard.com chart profile" . Retrieved 11 September 2009.