"Given the title, it's tempting to call Phoenix a rebirth. But more accurately, it's a return, both in name and in form. Bazan returns to a part of his history by revisiting his childhood — and reviving Pedro the Lion — with the perspective that only time can offer. Reflective and revealing, it's a remarkable opening to a new chapter in Bazan's musical history." - NPR

Pedro The Lion has always been David Bazan, but it took a long time to get back there. The band’s new album and Polyvinyl debut, Phoenix, marks a return to form as the follow up to their 2004 opus, Achilles Heel. The result is a twisting, darkly hopeful introspection into home and what it means to go back, if you ever can. It is rock and roll wrapped in tissue paper, its hard edges made barely soft. Every melody is careful, a delicate upswing buoyed by guitar lines that hold each tender feeling together like string before ripping them apart to see what’s inside. It is an ode to the place he still loves despite how alien it can appear to him now. It is the story of a life from the beginning, but not a linear one. This life is a circle, and Phoenix goes back to that first point, to show that when we are looking for home we’ll eventually run into it again, whether it’s in the desert, in a rehearsal space, or on a stage.

Listen to Pedro The Lion's Phoenix its entirety, ahead of next Friday's release date, courtesy of NPR First Listen. Pre-order the mailorder exclusive vinyl on 180-Gram Seafoam w/ Maroon Splatter, a limited first pressing featuring an etched D-side and deluxe gatefold jacket. Also available on 180-Gram Seafoam & 180-Gram Black. Find the band on tour throughout February and March. Tickets for all dates available now.