Its Hard To Find A Friend (Remastered)

On Pedro the Lion’s first long-player, chief singer/songwriter David Bazan opens up his heart with a confessional honesty that’s both unnerving and transcendent. *It’s Hard to Find a Friend* is a work of remarkable soul-baring, matching its dagger-sharp lyrics with minimalist melodies rendered in stark guitar/bass/drums settings. While Bazan’s vocals are tinged with a free-floating melancholy, they never sound less than fully committed to the material. Love, betrayal and spiritual yearning are the reoccurring subjects, confronted with quiet courage and a twist of wry humor. “Of Minor Prophets and Their Prostitute Wives” and “Bad Diary Days” capture the nuances of tormented relationships, while “The Longest Winter” plumbs the depths of lonesome bachelorhood with an unsparing touch. Bazan lightens up a bit on “When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run,” a look at fashion obsession set to a buoyant groove. “Secrets of the Easy Yolk” and “The Bells” find him treating Christian themes with rare sensitivity and palpable feeling.