photo by Ivan Agerton

Most bands start by writing songs at home and recording in their basements. For David Bazan, it took nearly two decades to get there. The former Pedro the Lion bandleader and subsequent solo artist has long been a local treasure, appealing to a generation of Northwest indie kids in the 90s and 2000s with his increasingly agnostic viewpoint, growing from quizzical to defiant, while ever invested in both cultural critique and raw emotional expression. Over the years, Bazan's audience has grown, in age and number, sharing his journey through its trials and the two albums of his own after Pedro's demise. It's been nearly five years, though, since his last release, yet David Bazan has hardly been idle. He's performed about a thousand shows (literally!) since going solo, in clubs and, in vastly increasing numbers, intimate house shows. In 2014, he started releasing two songs per months, as part of the Bazan Monthly series, eventually compiling two rounds of ten total songs into two volumes of limited press vinyl, all recorded in his basement. It's a different sound for Bazan, who relies more than ever on electric instrumentation, yet the songs are comfortingly familiar in their unrelenting intrapersonal explorations. Both volumes of vinyl are now completely sold out, but David Bazan's legion of fans will find ten of those songs - selected, remixed and refreshed - on his long-awaited third official solo album, Blanco, due next Friday, May 13, on Barsuk. You don't have to wait so long, though, to get a taste. Today, we're proud to premiere "Teardrops", the second single by on Blanco, exclusively on KEXP.

Listen to the song now, and be sure to catch David Bazan when he starts his tour this summer. He'll be at the Neptune Theatre on June 10, and at various clubs in the Northwest and then winding all around the country after that. Head over to his website and Facebook page for more about the album and upcoming shows.