Strange Negotiations

“You’ve gotta take stock and you’ve gotta take your lumps,” sings David Bazan in “People,” one of the key tracks on Strange Negotiations. The ex-Pedro the Lion front man follows up on the promise of his solo debut Curse Your Branches with a similarly provocative batch of slow-churning rock tracks, rendered by Bazan with touring bassist Andy Fitts and drummer Alex Westcoat. Strange Negotiations is the work of an angry truth-seeker who doesn’t care whom he outrages — tunes like “Level With Yourself,” “Eating Paper” and “Don’t Change” take on spiritual lethargy and moral cowardice without flinching. “Wolves At the Door” and the title tune have political implications, while “Messes” prods at the raw nerves of personal memory. There are tender notes here as well, heard in “Virginia” (a compassionate portrait of a departed friend) and “Won’t Let Go” (a long-distance promise of love). Bazan’s vocals — deep-toned and tinged with melancholy — are a perfect match for the material, underscoring the mixture of anguish, defiance and resolve that runs through this powerful release.