PRESS
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Devendra Banhart | Niño Rojo
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Pitchfork Media | by Dominique LeoneBanhart's record makes the most sense at the mercy of simple pleasures and the young at heart It's funny that Young God founder Michael Gira should make a point in the press release for Niño Rojo that his role in Devendra Banhart's career was merely to release his music, that everything else took care of itself. I imagine Gira felt strongly about Banhart from the get-go, and his pleasant surprise that the rest of the world (inasmuch as Banhart's newfound popularity translates to the "rest" of anything) has since come to agree is equally understandable. Yet, I wonder if, like me, Gira gets the feeling that Banhart has arrived at a place where he's independent of Young God, himself, or his press. Journalists are often accused of hubris, wherein they're supposed to believe the things they write about are necessarily benefited due to increased publicity. In fact, musicians can benefit from this, but if I'm to believe Gira (and I do), Banhart's success is due more to people responding "honestly to his music." The last time I wrote about Banhart, regarding his Rejoicing in the Hands album from earlier this year, I emphasized how removed......
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Devendra Banhart | Nino Rojo
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Blender | by J.D. ConsidineCatchy, disarming folk pop from formerly homeless innocentImagine a cross between Jonathan Richman and Elmo with most of the annoying bits removed, and that’s Banhart. Sure, the 23-year-old singer-guitarist likes to sing about dancing spiders and little lost birdies with a quivering, Tiny Tim vibrato. It helps that his idiosyncratic finger-picking and the occasional splash of bass and horns keep things from falling into solo-acoustic monotony. But it’s Banhart’s gift for melody that ultimately carries the day, littering the album with slyly entrancing tunes that recall the pleasure of old campfire songs. It’s enough to cure even a hardened cynic....
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Devendra Banhart | Nino Rojo
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Blender | by J.D. ConsidineCatchy, disarming folk pop from formerly homeless innocentImagine a cross between Jonathan Richman and Elmo with most of the annoying bits removed, and that’s Banhart. Sure, the 23-year-old singer-guitarist likes to sing about dancing spiders and little lost birdies with a quivering, Tiny Tim vibrato. It helps that his idiosyncratic finger-picking and the occasional splash of bass and horns keep things from falling into solo-acoustic monotony. But it’s Banhart’s gift for melody that ultimately carries the day, littering the album with slyly entrancing tunes that recall the pleasure of old campfire songs. It’s enough to cure even a hardened cynic....
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DEVENDRA BANHART | Nino Rojo
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OTHER MUSIC NEWSLETTER | by RHNino Rojo is every bit as breathtaking as its predecessorContrary to mistaken claims by some music journalists, Nino Rojo is by no means a collection of outtakes. The sessions which produced these tracks as well as those on the sublime Rejoicing In The Hands resulted in far more than the two discs' cumulative 32 songs, and the decision was made to stagger the release of the strongest material into two full-length installments. Simply stated, Nino Rojo is every bit as breathtaking as its predecessor. Devendra's gently eccentric voice and subdued fingerstyle acoustic guitar remain in focus on this second batch of lovely recordings, and a smattering of tasteful overdubs help to fill things out here and there. The biggest surprise on this one is "Be Kind," which captures Devendra leading a full-band folk-rock jam-out not unlike the one that closed his amazing New York City show with Joanna Newsom, Antony, and Vetiver at the beginning of the summer. It is abundantly clear that young Mr. Banhart understands the importance of simplicity, melody, and poetry far better than most musicians twice his age. Nino Rojo is a treasure, yet another highlight in his rapidly blossoming career.......
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Devendra Banhart, Niño Rojo
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San Francisco Chronicle | by Neva ChoninBlurbCulled from the same sessions that produced the CD "Rejoicing in the Hands" earlier this year, "Nino Rojo" continues urban folkster DevendraBanhart's journey through the dark night of his own quixotic soul. The hiss of his early cassette recordings has been replaced by piano, violin and sundry other effects delivered by backup musicians who enhance Banhart's lilting vocals and guitar without smothering them. It's a mix that works. Fey and sweet and strange, the album's 16 songs are the testament of a holy fool who knows his way around the human songbook....