Devendra Banhart - 'Cripple Crow' (XL)
4/5
By: Sabuhi Mir
Devendra Banhart is a strange fish. Apart from having a rather large twisty beard that Mahrishi Mahesh Yogi would be proud of, he has just completed his 'Hairy Fairy' tour in the US. And Michael Gira of Young God Records (Banhart's label) says of him: 'I consider him to be an antidote, maybe even a sort of narcotic - that rare case where you feel like you're coming home when you listen to a piece of music.'
Scared, I would be. His debut album had the extraordinarily long title of 'Oh
Me Oh My The Way The Day Goes By The Sun Is Setting Dogs Are Dreaming
Lovesongs Of The Christmas Spirit'.
So 'Cripple Crow' is Banhart's third album to date on XL Recordings, and the
follow-up to 'Rejoicing In The Hands' and 'Nino Roja' released last year. This
album pulls no surprises, and keeps in line with Banhart's mystical hushed
tones, soft melodies, gentle acoustic picking and musical exoticism.
Flute, cello and shuffling percussion make an appearance on 'Santa Maria Da Feira', smooth, and he transports us to South America. On the other end of the
scale, 'Long Haired Child' is a psychedelic-tinged slump, and the lyrics involve a lot
of beard-combing and 'baby, baby'. In fact, so does the next song, 'Lazy Butterfly'
which makes exhaustible use of the sitar - roll on Crispian Mills (kidding).
Other ditties are not-half inclusive of 'Beatles' for it's sheer 1 minute 47 seconds of weirdness and 'Dragonflies'. It is, indeed, amazing, that with this album, Banhart has single-handedly managed to capture the Donovan/Traffic/Cat Stevens vibe of the late/mid 1960s at the tender age of 24. Who gave him a time machine? More importantly, who else gave him that voice? F**k. The album is most definitely an acid trip. If anyone asks what I'm on, I can safely say that 'I'm on Banhart.' Form a queue.
Artists in this article: Devendra Banhart
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