Band: Devendra Banhart
Label: Reprise Records
Release: 2009

1. “Can’t Help But Smiling” – 8.8
2. “Angelika” – 7.3
3. “Baby” – 8.4
4. “Goin’ Back” – 8.7
5. “First Song For  B” – 7.5
6. “Last Song For B” – 7.0
7. “Chin Chin & Muck Muck” – 7.8
8. “16th & Valencia Roxy Music” – 5.9
9. “Rats” – 7.5
10. “Maria Lionza” – 6.8
11. “Brindo” – 7.2
12. “Meet Me At Lookout Point” – 7.8
13. “Walilamdzi” – 7.9
14. “Foolin'” – 7.3

Comments: Banhart is a sell-out; he ditched independent powerhouse XL Recordings for mega-corporation Warner Group. Banhart’s signing brings out a fairly new market for Warner, as he’s equipped with a history of playing softie freak-folk (as opposed to the louder, noisier brand that has made Animal Collective a dime or two in the past decade) that appeals to a weird, but not all too unfamiliar demographic: WERS Daytime cronies, stoned Sam Roberts junkies (same thing as WERS Daytime cronies?), and wanna-be urban college students who desire some kind of “hipster” cred. Essentially Banhart hasn’t really changed his deal too much on What Will We Be. This time around, he will surely get more “mainstream-underground” air time (Album of the Month), but he’ll stay on the margins for just as long because he’s too folky for popular music. Listen to the first few tracks…he’s loosened up on the “freak” part of freak-folk, for whatever reason. The beat and style of a song like “16th & Valencia Roxy Music” is almost a joke that mirrors top 40 electro-pop.  I’m not here to criticize Devendra for not being “indie” enough, but it’s moments like that in an album that make me sit back and go “where the fuck did this come from?” He tries his best Grizzly Bear impersonation on “Meet Me At Lookout Point” and he succeeds (though, in my opinion, it’s of a really non-exciting Grizzly Bear Veckatimest track). In fact, a good part of the album seems like a really wishy-washy Grizzly Bear set. I wouldn’t go so low to call this thing an utter disaster, but a lot of the songs seem to be formula based, whereas the minimalism on his classics (“The Body Breaks,” “Insect Eyes,” etc) is what makes them work.

Grade: 7.6