If Devendra Banhart believes that he just plays rock ‘n’ roll, he might need to look at a dictionary.
On his newest album, What Will We Be, Banhart showcases the eclectic influences any Texan-born, Venezualan-New Yorker is bound to have. Inspired by indigenous South American religions and Sinatra show tunes, Banhart’s newest album is a jaunt through a multitude of genres with plenty of little surprises in each song.
Although the freak-folk king has now switched to a major label, Banhart won’t be losing his hippie audience just yet (see “Maria Lionza,” where he sings “Let’s make the most of when we stopped believing/love is the only thing truly worth breathing”).
But in a fairly transparent attempt to shake off the psych-folk tag he has said he dislikes, Banhart seems to avoid settling into one specific style. He opens with “Can’t Help But Smiling,” an easygoing track that lulls the listener into a comfortable Tropicalia feel. Continuing with a Cat Stevens-like tune in “Angelika,” What Will We Be suddenly changes course with a smooth Latin beat, jazzy piano, and exotic Spanish trills, then fades out with a soft acoustic croon.
There is, however, a sense of comfort in Banhart’s genre hopping, as if he enjoys carrying the listener along on his artistic odyssey.
Banhart finds a settling point in his more subdued songs, like “First Song for B,” which teeters with the frailty of its eerie piano chords and Banhart’s earnest, repetitive pleading of “please destroy me.” A languor reminiscent of fellow indie folksters Grizzly Bear at their sleepiest soothes the listener in the dreamy “Meet Me at Lookout Point.” And in these classical folk-singer unions of fragility and confidence, Banhart’s distinctive, quivering vibrato finds an appropriate delicacy without flimsiness.
Just before fading out on a pseudo-reggae note, What Will We Be chills out in 1970s San Francisco, dabbles in funk, and goes bass heavy in a riff-laden rocker. And though the unity of the album as a whole is questionable at times—a new problem for a musician who’s never released an album under sixteen tracks—all the songs are undeniably Devendra Banhart.
Voice’s Choices: “First Song for B,” “Baby,” “Rats”
—Ella Mitchell
