David Bazan: Curse Your Branches. new album lost faith

David Bazan, the song writer from Seattle Washington who gained popularity at the end of the 90's with Christian indie rock has shed his faith for agnosticism. His new album--to be released on September 1st on Barsuk Records--Curse Your Branches deals with the heavy issue of questioning faith, drinking too much, and finding faults with the lord and humanity.

His songs cover the beautifully doubtful "Hard to Be" to the disturbingly frank "Harmless sparks", in which he addresses sex scandals and the priesthood. His songs however deal with more topics then merely faith. "Please, Baby, Please" deals with alcoholism and fear of how it will affect his daughter.

In her article title "The Passion of David Bazan" Jessica hopper describes his flow away from faith. http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-passion-of-david-bazan/Content?oid=1169...

""People used to compare him to Jesus," says a backstage manager as David Bazan walks offstage, guitar in hand. "But not so much anymore."

[David Bazan was forced to leave the Cornerstone Christian music festival some years back for going on stage plastered and with milk jug of vodka in hand. Raising the question did he find somewhere to buy a milk jug of vodka or was a funnel involved. However this year they let him come back and play his new songs.]

Bazan is known for his dialogues with fans, and during his set he's affable, taking questions from the crowd. Tonight's audience, openly anxious and awed, keeps it light at first: "Would you rather be a werewolf or a vampire?" Then he opens with the new album's lead track, "Hard to Be," a sobering song with an especially hard-hitting second verse:

Wait just a minute
You expect me to believe
That all this misbehaving
Grew from one enchanted tree?
And helpless to fight it
We should all be satisfied
With this magical explanation
For why the living die
And why it's hard to be
Hard to be, hard to be
A decent human being?

By the time he finishes those lines I can see half a dozen people crying; a woman near me is trembling and sobbing. Others have their heads in their hands. Many look stunned, but no one leaves. When the song ends, the applause is thunderous."

Mr. Bazan has been voted one of the top 100 living song writers and is touring with a band across America for the first time in a few years. Here is a list of his shows: http://www.davidbazan.com/

Personally, David Bazan is the best and most underestimated artist I have experienced. Perhaps he is the patron saint of doubt. Knowing god is there and not believing in him is far different from being an atheist. Knowing he is there and seeing that he is failing people is painful, yet it makes some amazing songs. 9/10