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Devendra Banhart, "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon"
Devendra Banhart's fifth album finds him abandoning many of the idiosyncrasies that fueled his earlier work and instead adopting a variety of broader influences. As a result, he reaches neither the ecstatic heights obtained previously nor the jokey lows that plagued Cripple Crow. Apart from a handful of exceptions, Banhart instead settles for something in between for much of this middling effort.
Banhart is all over the place stylistically on these 16 tracks. Sometimes it works, and other times it sounds like he's trying to impersonate someone rather than just being himself. "Samba Vexillographica" sounds quite a bit like a watered-down tropicalia, and he draws upon the Caribbean for inspiration on the dub "The Other Woman." He sticks closer to home for other influences, like gospel on "Saved," pop funk on "Lover," doo-wop crooning on "Shabop Shalom," and even '60s rock on "Seahorse." That's not to say that he doesn't do any of these things well, but the selection of genres seems more calculated than inspired.
Yet Banhart still shows some flashes of what drew me to him in the first place. The lengthy, three-part "Seahorse" has some great multitracked vocals in its center, and the electric guitar section is uncharacteristically thrilling. "Tonada Yanomaminista" is a decent yelping rock song, not something I've heard Banhart do often. "The Other Woman," the album's reggae track, is actually pretty good, the bass particularly well done and the vocal feedback memorable. Even the three songs winding the album down are pretty enjoyable, especially the brief droning bit on "My Dearest Friend." My favorite track, though, is "Carmencita." It starts quietly and then kicks in after a dramatic pause, sustained by dramatic lyrics and an emotional quality for the most part lacking elsewhere on the album.
Like Cripple Crow, Banhart utilizes a band for most of this recording. His backing musicians are competent if indistinguishable as separate personalities, proving that it's still entirely Banhart's show even if he has expanded his sound beyond his singer-songwriter, acoustic guitar beginnings. Banhart's lyrics in both English and Spanish remain, apart from an awkward forced rhyme or two, one of his biggest strengths even if they may get lost in ordinary songwriting.
If Banhart seeks mainstream acceptance, this album may work in his favor with its blend of familiarity and gentle exoticism. That it is sufficiently relaxing to play at the end of the night and poses little challenge to the listener doesn't hurt. Yet as someone hoping for something a little more unique, I found it to be fairly ordinary but for the few excellent tracks that made it worthwhile.
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