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.
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.
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
On review aggregator Metacritic the album holds a score of 82/100, based on 19 critic's reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and #116 on the Billboard 200 the week of its release.
Track listing 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 David Bazan – vocals, guitar, drums, synthesizer, bass guitar, piano, engineering, production
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