PRESS
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Devendra Banhart - Nino Rojo
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New Noise | by Joanna BoothA tall teller of strange talesShould there be in my lifetime a nuclear holocaust, apocalypse, or spontaneous global combustion due to a fatal overdose of Simon Fuller, I hope to god I'm in the vicinity of Devendra Banhart when the shit hits the fan. If I have to live in a bunker with no stereo or TV, I reckon that the fraggle-haired purveyor of whimsical, ethereal folk is your best bet to while away the long, dark, radioactive evenings. Because, above all else, Banhart is a portable Jackanory, a tall teller of strange tales – or possibly the other way round. Proof, if proof were needed, is amply provided on 'Nino Rojo'. Most accurately described as Banhart's album number two and a half, 'Nino Rojo' was recorded in the same session as the tracks on 'Rejoicing in the Hands', released earlier this year. The 23-year-old's output is prolific. These songs aren't off-cuts or second-bests. They work in tandem with the previous album, like a CD2 held back to give us a chance to mull over part one of the double album. 'We All Know' is a chunky slice of typical Banhart – bouncy, rhythmic guitars,......
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Devendra Banhart, Nino Rojo
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Nude as the News | by Jeff GrayIt's warm and familiar and not without a certain accessible wisdomA couple of years ago, my roommate gave me a copy of Iron and Wine's The Creek Drank The Cradle. He liked it, so I tried to like it too, but I never made it through an entire listen. These days, when one of the songs comes up on my iTunes shuffle, I don't even make it to the end of a single track. It's an album based on a formula I should like -- acoustic guitar, quirky lyrics, soft harmonies -- but it's plain dull. Sure, there's some nice finger-picking, but every time they sing, all sickly and distant, they sap all the energy and life and possibility out of the mix. Just listening to it now as I write this has made me want to get up and go outside for some fresh air. Phew. I'm back to the keyboard. Like the Iron and Wine that leaves me so cold, Devendra Banhart's songs are hushed-volume, simply orchestrated folk tunes, but where Iron and Wine is wallowing its own lifelessness, Banhart is jumping with life and possibility. His voice is powerful without......
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Devendra Banhart, Nino Rojo
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Nude as the News | by Jeff GrayIt's warm and familiar and not without a certain accessible wisdomA couple of years ago, my roommate gave me a copy of Iron and Wine's The Creek Drank The Cradle. He liked it, so I tried to like it too, but I never made it through an entire listen. These days, when one of the songs comes up on my iTunes shuffle, I don't even make it to the end of a single track. It's an album based on a formula I should like -- acoustic guitar, quirky lyrics, soft harmonies -- but it's plain dull. Sure, there's some nice finger-picking, but every time they sing, all sickly and distant, they sap all the energy and life and possibility out of the mix. Just listening to it now as I write this has made me want to get up and go outside for some fresh air. Phew. I'm back to the keyboard. Like the Iron and Wine that leaves me so cold, Devendra Banhart's songs are hushed-volume, simply orchestrated folk tunes, but where Iron and Wine is wallowing its own lifelessness, Banhart is jumping with life and possibility. His voice is powerful without......
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Devendra Banhart - London Shepherds Bush Empire
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Soundgenerator | by CDELive show reviewThey say it's all about the journey, not the destination. We could talk about the sound, the instrumentation - even the stripped down, primal ethics of the music. The reality is that all roads lead back to Devendra - the mighty-voiced, charismatic bandleader that tonight's Shepherds Bush crowd have paid to keep company with for an hour or two. The good thing, no, the amazing thing about Banhart, is the way he's taken the classic 70's San Francisco folk rock blueprint into 2004 with such honest interpretation. Watching tonight's set, which features Queen of Sheba - Devendra's more than capable backing band - as well as assorted musicians from the sensationally brilliant support act Coco Rosie, you are effortlessly transported back to a time where setlists, curfews and other trivialities had no place in music; musicians gathered simply to chase the dark from the shadows on a journey with no destination. However the short time spend occupying Barhart's world must eventually come to an end, therefore so must the journey. But what an experience it was; from the opening tracks, with Banhart alone, centre stage, stirring up the ambience with hushed determination to a high......
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Devendra Banhart - London Shepherds Bush Empire
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Soundgenerator | by CDELive show reviewThey say it's all about the journey, not the destination. We could talk about the sound, the instrumentation - even the stripped down, primal ethics of the music. The reality is that all roads lead back to Devendra - the mighty-voiced, charismatic bandleader that tonight's Shepherds Bush crowd have paid to keep company with for an hour or two. The good thing, no, the amazing thing about Banhart, is the way he's taken the classic 70's San Francisco folk rock blueprint into 2004 with such honest interpretation. Watching tonight's set, which features Queen of Sheba - Devendra's more than capable backing band - as well as assorted musicians from the sensationally brilliant support act Coco Rosie, you are effortlessly transported back to a time where setlists, curfews and other trivialities had no place in music; musicians gathered simply to chase the dark from the shadows on a journey with no destination. However the short time spend occupying Barhart's world must eventually come to an end, therefore so must the journey. But what an experience it was; from the opening tracks, with Banhart alone, centre stage, stirring up the ambience with hushed determination to a high......