Artist: Devendra Banhart
Album: Mala
It's actually been quit a while since we've heard from Devendra Banhart, the once pretty prolific singer-songwriter since his debut album in 2002. At most two years would pass between albums but the tomorrow release of his eighth studio album "Mala" will be his first since 2009's "What Will Be."
"Mala" isn't much of a break from his established style, sublime folky melodies with some "out-there" lyrics, and a strong dose of "WTF." Banhart is back in all his "freak folk" glory.
But on the other hand... "Mala" has a groovy ambiance to it that sets it apart from some of his previous work. And despite the jump from singing in English to Spanish to a bit of German here and there it flows in a beautiful way. This is an amazing mood record that's great in the early AM (when I've played it the most) but also, I would imagine, sounds great on the late late.
I typically have one track per album I become completely obsessed with with Devendra, which I'm still trying to work out on "Mala." Serious nominees include "Never Seen Such Good Things," which has such a pleasant feel, some 50s style to it... hard to explain. Sublime. Then comes "Your Fine Petting Duck," (this album's animal track) which starts as a nice, folky track, that then turns into a throbbing German-stye dance track. (?!?!) WTF indeed... a complete head-scratcher that manages to work. Loving "Won't You Come Over" as well.
If you're not a fan, "Mala" won't change that, but if you're not familiar, this might even be a nice place to start. Great record.
Enjoy.
Never Seen Such Good Things
No comments:
Post a Comment