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Thursday, November 19, 2009
CD review: Devendra Banhart, What Will We Be (with video)
Posted by Evan Tokarz on Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 1:41 PM
Formerly bearded weirdo Devendra Banhart releases another album of strange folk with What Will We Be (Reprise). Problem is, his major-label debut sounds overproduced and commercialized, with none of the organic charm of previous albums like Rejoicing in the Hands. It’s an unfocused grab bag of tracks ranging from Banhart as R&B crooner on “Baby” to Banhart as Cut Copy-inspired DJ on “16th and Valencia, Roxy Music.”
“Can’t Help but Smiling,” though, has the refreshing, invigorating feeling of waking up after a mid-day nap. It’s a lively, tropical folky song with Spanish undertones. Depressingly, the production tarnishes the song with a sheen that would not be out of place in a commercial for Levi’s or iPod, or some other corporation trying to appeal to a hip demographic. The appeal of previous Banhart albums were their lo-fi intimacy. Who wants a musically airbrushed folk singer?
“Angelika” is another track that would be good if came off more natural. I feel like someone knocking on Bob Dylan for using electric instruments, but even the best technology can be misused to make things sound better than they really are. Despite the presence of looming auto tuned supercomputers, the track has a '60s, island-tropical meets Tea for the Tillerman-era Cat Stevens sort of vibe — that is, if the cat named Stevens spoke Spanish and sung with the passion of a Pamplona bullfighter.
The rest of the songs on the record are sub-par due to the aforementioned unnatural production. I could attribute the change to Banhart's whim or the desire of Warner Bros., but maybe, like Samson, it was Banhart’s recent beard shaving that made him lose his musical power. If the album got a trim and washed the over-stylized gel out of its hair, it would be much better. As is, it’s like a dredlocked hippie at a three-day camp-only festival — pretty stinky. Unplug your computers, Mr. Banhart.
Here's Devendra playing "Baby" from the new album:
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