Search - Devendra Banhart :: What Will We Be

His best album yet for non-freaks

D. Steinbock | San Francisco, CA | 12/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album was recorded on mostly analog equipment in a house on the Northern California coast. You can hear the intimacy of the creative space in the home-grown arrangements, the room acoustics, the casual performances. It's authentic, hand-made, contemporary folk music at its best.



To be frank, I have not been a big Devendra fan in the past. I heard his weirdo-vibrato as more a personality affectation than something that added to the musicality of his work. That weirdo-voice is pretty much absent from this recording. Not trying to be a hater, but thank you, Dev. Thank you for giving us instead an open-hearted peek into your world behind the rockstar eyeliner mask. The songs are personal, tender and treat worn-out themes in surprisingly fresh ways: lovers, partying in the city at night, personal growth. The album is now on my rotation, a difficult and welcome feat."