PRESS
-
THE QUIET REVOLUTION
()
MOJOSomething's happening in acoustic music. Is it 'new weird folk' or simply 'new folk'? Jay Babcock explains all.The black-bearded, longhaired man in embroidered red robe and cowl, sits Indian-style, amidst candles, on a Persian rug, playing acoustic guitar. “It’s a sight to behold/When you’ve got some words to mold/And you can make them your own,†he sings, his voice an oddly dreamy warble. It feels like a scene out from a circa-1968 druid-folk-hippie documentary or ancient Old Grey Whistle Test; one half-expects a doe, or Marc Bolan, to bound by in the background at any moment. But this is 2004. The scene is from a mid-May performance on the BBC’s Later With Jools Holland by the remarkable 23-year-old American folksinger Devendra Banhart. It’s the UK home viewers’ first real encounter with the powerful New Weird Folk current now surfacing in America, of which Banhart is both a member and a prime mover. Call it “New Weird Folk,†to distinguish Banhart and his eclectic cohort from your average American folksingers; they’re neither streetbuskers nor protest singers nor third-gen CSNY earnest sops nor smug anti-folkers. Their aesthetic, generally speaking, is more challenging, derived at least partially from the artists at the more......
-
Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vetiver
()
Illinois Entertainer | by Steve ForstnegerLive Review Bottom Lounge, Chicago Sunday, June 13, 2004Banhart offered few clues as to how full his set would be, and perpetrated some eccentricity early on when he joined openers Vetiver for the first half of their set. He's credited as a band member on the group's self-titled debut, but according to frontman Andy Cabic, this was the first time on this tour Banhart played with them. The singer apparently had to be stirred out of some religious pregame rituals, because he took the stage draped in a bed sheet and looked like Jesus with an oversized beard. He also sat on a chair so small that no one behind the first three rows of people could see him. Later, when he entered the stage for his own set, he quickly introduced his "favorite" band, The Viking Dolls, and disappeared. Does he assuage fears when he re-enters? No. He announces that he's going to get through as many songs as possible and try not to play too many of his "bummer" tunes. Being alone on the stage is scary enough, since the tracks on his most recent, Rejoicing In Hands, are meticulously complemented with strings......
-
Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vetiver
()
Illinois Entertainer | by Steve ForstnegerLive Review Bottom Lounge, Chicago Sunday, June 13, 2004Banhart offered few clues as to how full his set would be, and perpetrated some eccentricity early on when he joined openers Vetiver for the first half of their set. He's credited as a band member on the group's self-titled debut, but according to frontman Andy Cabic, this was the first time on this tour Banhart played with them. The singer apparently had to be stirred out of some religious pregame rituals, because he took the stage draped in a bed sheet and looked like Jesus with an oversized beard. He also sat on a chair so small that no one behind the first three rows of people could see him. Later, when he entered the stage for his own set, he quickly introduced his "favorite" band, The Viking Dolls, and disappeared. Does he assuage fears when he re-enters? No. He announces that he's going to get through as many songs as possible and try not to play too many of his "bummer" tunes. Being alone on the stage is scary enough, since the tracks on his most recent, Rejoicing In Hands, are meticulously complemented with strings......
-
Devendra Banhart, Rejoicing in the Hands
()
Rocket-Fuel.com | by John StraubThe more you listen, the more you hear things that you’ve never heard beforeIt's like finding home In an old folk song That you've never ever heard. Still you know every word And for sure you can sing along. Those lines say everything this review needs to say. I should just leave it at that. I continue to write only because I feel some sense of obligation, but you should stop reading right now. Just stop reading, and buy yourself a copy of Rejoicing in the Hands. The quote comes from the second track, "A Sight to Behold." Before you get through the end of that track, you will understand, and you will be glad you bought the CD. My editor should delete everything in this review except the quote. I hope she does. If she doesn’t, it’s probably because she thinks you’ll also want to read the kind of comparisons, descriptions, and objective information that you’ve come to expect from CD reviews. Maybe she’s right, so here you go [Ed. Note: Actually, it's because posting these things is enough trouble that I expect a little more than a quote, but I'm sure those other things......
-
Devendra Banhart, Rejoicing in the Hands
()
Rocket-Fuel.com | by John StraubThe more you listen, the more you hear things that you’ve never heard beforeIt's like finding home In an old folk song That you've never ever heard. Still you know every word And for sure you can sing along. Those lines say everything this review needs to say. I should just leave it at that. I continue to write only because I feel some sense of obligation, but you should stop reading right now. Just stop reading, and buy yourself a copy of Rejoicing in the Hands. The quote comes from the second track, "A Sight to Behold." Before you get through the end of that track, you will understand, and you will be glad you bought the CD. My editor should delete everything in this review except the quote. I hope she does. If she doesn’t, it’s probably because she thinks you’ll also want to read the kind of comparisons, descriptions, and objective information that you’ve come to expect from CD reviews. Maybe she’s right, so here you go [Ed. Note: Actually, it's because posting these things is enough trouble that I expect a little more than a quote, but I'm sure those other things......