PRESS
-
Devendra Banhart, Nino Rojo (XL)
()
The Stereo Effect (UK)| by Karen PiperNino Rojo sounds so far beyond record labels and pop chartsStrange, isn’t it? How something so leftfield (and he truly is), and quintessentially unique can capture imaginations on a grand scale? Already onto his second UK release, Devendra Banhart has delivered Nino Rojo, mere months after his debut Rejoicing in the Hands, and to little surprise, it’s another whopping sixteen tracks of blissful disengagement from the here and now. Never once during his romp, and it is a romp - “Little Yellow Spider†is a belter of a campfire tune – does Devendra glimpse the vultures that are circling and waiting for the kill. His voice is a rusty nail, love it or hate it, and the songs as simple as picnics and the years before the war (we guess). Despite being able to play for worshipping crowds, he still sounds like pure isolation. “I’d like to dance with you if you’d like me to†he quivers, half-sad and half-passionate quiver. Maybe it’s the beard, and the voice, or maybe it’s the sound of a rickety rocking chair on an old porch, the moonshine, the goldrush and the dusty sunsets – all those things......
-
Devendra Banhart, Nino Rojo (XL)
()
The Stereo Effect (UK)| by Karen PiperNino Rojo sounds so far beyond record labels and pop chartsStrange, isn’t it? How something so leftfield (and he truly is), and quintessentially unique can capture imaginations on a grand scale? Already onto his second UK release, Devendra Banhart has delivered Nino Rojo, mere months after his debut Rejoicing in the Hands, and to little surprise, it’s another whopping sixteen tracks of blissful disengagement from the here and now. Never once during his romp, and it is a romp - “Little Yellow Spider†is a belter of a campfire tune – does Devendra glimpse the vultures that are circling and waiting for the kill. His voice is a rusty nail, love it or hate it, and the songs as simple as picnics and the years before the war (we guess). Despite being able to play for worshipping crowds, he still sounds like pure isolation. “I’d like to dance with you if you’d like me to†he quivers, half-sad and half-passionate quiver. Maybe it’s the beard, and the voice, or maybe it’s the sound of a rickety rocking chair on an old porch, the moonshine, the goldrush and the dusty sunsets – all those things......
-
Devendra Banhart | Niño Rojo
()
The Guardian | by Molloy WoodcraftA joyful noise indeed.Banhart's second album of the year was recorded at the same sessions as the first, the 'niño rojo' of the title apparently being the offspring of the 'goddess' of the previous affair's long-winded title. Thankfully the concept does not extend much beyond this; however this album is as drenched in the same hippyish pastoral whimsy as the last. Fortunately, like his obvious hero Marc Bolan, Banhart has a fantastic way with sweet, simple melodies and backs himself as before with excellent picked guitar. The slow waltz 'Noah' drips with honey; 'Horseheadedfleshwizard' achieves a lugubrious incantatory quality; and the five-minute closer 'Electric Heart' builds from bare acoustic guitar through multilayered vocals to encompass a muted brass section. A joyful noise indeed....
-
Devendra Banhart, Nino Rojo
()
Neufutur...the guitar lines that he lays down are absolutely beautifulWhen an individual releases two albums that are intended to be a companion album, it becomes pretty hard to write two separate reviews. Devendra amplifies this problem, as Nino Rojo is culled from the same sessions that brought out Rejoicing in the Hands, and as such, eir’s playing, influences, and general sound are analogous to Rejoicing. However, there are enough differences in specific parts of Nino Rojo in which to write a review, starting off with the second track, “Ay Mamaâ€, which has a double-harmonized set of vocals work magic alongside sweetly-wrought instruments. However, there are moments on Nino Rojo where Devendra creates a style of music that still feels a little hollow, music that could use more percussion, specifically “We All Knowâ€. The oscillations in Banhart’s voice would be perfectly coupled with some simple foot-stomping added to the choice, and the album version relaying purely on a distorted cymbal and brass only portend a minor amount of the amazing possibilities of the track. Some tracks are specifically crafted for a child’s audience, including “Little Yellow Spiderâ€, which could be recreated by a class of kindergartners for a more impressive sound.......
-
DEVENDRA BANHART - HIT ME WITH THE SURREAL FEEL
()
IndieinitiativeHis voice, a quivering high-tension wire, sounded like it could have been recorded 70 years agoSometime 2002, Michael Gira, the former frontman for eighties noise extremists, The Swans, stumbles across the crude homemade recordings of a then, 21 year old, homeless, neo psych/folk hippie artist and musician from San Francisco named Devendra Banhart. Stunned by what he had heard, Gira decides to release the recordings himself on his own, Young God Records label, simply because he had never heard anything quite like Devendra before. Ever. Oh Me, On My... The Way the Day Goes by the Sun is Setting Dogs Are Dreaming Lovesongs of the Christmas Spirit, was/is the album. 22 songs of surreal, abstract beauty and fractured story telling over simple acoustic guitar. His voice, a quivering high-tension wire, sounded like it could have been recorded 70 years ago - these songs could have been sitting in someone's attic, left there since the 1930's. Drawing inspiration from some of the great folk and country-blues artists of yester-yore, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Mississippi John Hurt, Tim Buckley, Fred Neil, John Fahey et all, Devendra Banhart recorded on a four-track and through an answering machine. The album endured huge critical acclaim and......