PRESS
-
Devendra Banhart: Niño Rojo
()
Stop Smiling | by Dustin DraseThis is elegant music for time spent with the windows wide open on a cool, fall afternoon.While the current crop of young artists is copping their looks and musical chops from late 70s and early 80s post-punk, there are still a few holdouts that subscribe to a different era and agenda. And so, we enter the bohemian revelry of the freak-folkies; a rag tag group of nouveau earthen-flower children with throwbacks to unknown and underappreciated singers like Vashti Bunyan, and Linda Perhacs. Like a bearded pied-piper, Devendra Banhart champions overlooked musicians of the past, while wholeheartedly embracing a new regime of like-minded individuals, including Joanna Newsom, Espers, Vetiver, Josephine Foster, and CocoRosie (Nino Rojo’s "Be Kind" is dedicated CocoRosie’s Bianca Casady.) Musically, Banhart is a mesmerizing blend of 60s troubadour-folkies and Greenwich Village cool, his voice lilting majestic over elaborate, finger-picked guitar rhythms. Devendra’s thoughts are both backward and forward-conscious; at the same time, his music is completely timeless. Comparisons have been made to Marc Bolan, Nick Drake, and Donovan, but Devendra’s style is most evidently influenced by the likes of female singers such as Billie Holiday, Karen Dalton and Ella Jenkins; Banhart chose a......
-
DEVENDRA BANHART | NINO ROJO
()
Crud Magazine | by James BerryIt’s satisfying. It makes you smile.Whimsy – it’s a funny old quality. A valuable social feature perhaps, but a funny one nonetheless. A personality undoubtedly benefits from it – it’s like an accessory, tarting up what’s already there, even to the extent that one can be defined by how they accessorise – but to be swathed in it, or buried beneath it? For other things to be left to merely accessorise it? Do you see what I’m trying to say with this at all? The bloke down the pub with a quirky self-appointed nickname, growing a handlebar moustache, drinking cider from a tankard and talking in animated and unconnected syllables as if he’s just discovered electricity. He’s drowning himself and his sorrows in whimsy. The thing is many who are similar in style to Devendra that dabble in the stuff – Badly Drawn Boy, Chris TT, Simple Kid – but they counter that with melancholy or a narrated reality or facial hair and headwear. Devendra doesn’t appear to know there’s shade to every light, which seems at odds with his clearly eloquent capabilities as a musician and writer. Don’t get us wrong, as he high......
-
Devendra Banhart, Niño Rojo
()
Dusted Magazine | by Nathan HoganBanhart drapes his creations in new instrumental colorSince the release of Oh Me Oh My, his lively 4-track debut, Devendra Banhart has risen to prominence as the charismatic leader of a new generation of barely-underground out-folkies. The wide-eyed and generous qualities so appealing in Banhart’s music have also manifested themselves in his attention to peers – he regularly hurries through his sets to accommodate musicians he seems genuinely awed by (Michael Gira, Joanna Newsom, Xiu Xiu, and Vetiver’s Andy Cabic to name a few). Earlier this year Banhart wielded his influence to shine attention on a slew of talented but mostly lesser-known contemporaries with his Golden Apples Of The Sun compilation. On Niño Rojo, his third full-length, Banhart puts his inclusive disposition to solo advantage; with a liberal helping of instrumental and vocal support, Banhart’s songs find life at their edges. The material on Niño Rojo represents a portion of the recordings completed for Rejoicing In The Hands. (Banhart’s brimming debut was hardly a fluke, and the 30-odd songs recorded last year for Lynn Bridges put Young God in the enviable position of needing two releases to get everything out.) Therefore, it’s chronologically inaccurate to......
-
Devendra Banhart, Niño Rojo
()
Dusted Magazine | by Nathan HoganBanhart drapes his creations in new instrumental colorSince the release of Oh Me Oh My, his lively 4-track debut, Devendra Banhart has risen to prominence as the charismatic leader of a new generation of barely-underground out-folkies. The wide-eyed and generous qualities so appealing in Banhart’s music have also manifested themselves in his attention to peers – he regularly hurries through his sets to accommodate musicians he seems genuinely awed by (Michael Gira, Joanna Newsom, Xiu Xiu, and Vetiver’s Andy Cabic to name a few). Earlier this year Banhart wielded his influence to shine attention on a slew of talented but mostly lesser-known contemporaries with his Golden Apples Of The Sun compilation. On Niño Rojo, his third full-length, Banhart puts his inclusive disposition to solo advantage; with a liberal helping of instrumental and vocal support, Banhart’s songs find life at their edges. The material on Niño Rojo represents a portion of the recordings completed for Rejoicing In The Hands. (Banhart’s brimming debut was hardly a fluke, and the 30-odd songs recorded last year for Lynn Bridges put Young God in the enviable position of needing two releases to get everything out.) Therefore, it’s chronologically inaccurate to......
-
Devendra Banhart - Nino Rojo
()
LMNOPA fantastic trip into the mind of one of the greatest unknown songwriters in the United StatesDevendra Banhart has, in a very short time, captured the hearts and imaginations of music reviewers everywhere. His music is obtuse and unfamiliar sounding...having a great deal in common with Marc Bolan's early Tyrannosaurus Rex recordings. The tunes are simple, featuring wonderfully flowing melodies...and Banhart's unmistakable quivering vocals. In many ways, this man's songs sound as if they could have been written in the 1920s or 1930s. There is some undescribable quality that makes his music sound very out of place in today's musical climate. Nino Rojo was culled from the same recording sessions that produced Banhart's previous CD (Rejoicing in the Hands). As such, it is just as equally rewarding and hypnotic. Featuring sixteen obtuse cuts, Rojo is a fantastic trip into the mind of one of the greatest unknown songwriters in the United States. Excellent cuts include "Ay Mama," "We All Know," "An Island," "Owl Eyes," and "Electric Heart." A word of warning: Most folks will probably not appreciate this music. Because people in general want music that sounds familiar, this greatly limits Banhart's potential audience. If, however, you have an adventurous......