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Devandra Banhart - "Oh Me, Oh My..."
(Young God Records)

Little birds remain broken on this debut full length. Bi-coastal, all over the place singer songwriter Devendra Banhart has summoned the miniature powers that be and erected an album that breathes magnitudes into a dying breed of popular music:folk. With the Moldy Peaches and other "anti-folk" stars, what a dumb genre cause folk is folk is folk. If it's anti-folk then it's still folk. Critics are fucking numbskulls. It's not like beck hasn't sung about steve throwing up or the feeble Daniel Johnston hasn't beguilded the serious tom waits fan. Yeah, you can't like Beefheart, then Tom Waits, then Daniel Johnston. You just have too much appreciation to throw around. Why don't you appreciate this artist. He sings from the gut, talks about being a gay man, his vocal stylings are magical, if not otherworldly. Nocturnal mischief between pixie dust and booger sugar, the landscape of imaginary characters and journeys, thorough song structure, and eerie presence make for one of the best solo outings I've heard in a long time. Small voice, huge palette, lots of stunning prose, great guitar work, roguh recording, some of the tracks are taken from his cassette release that he sold two for a buck. For folks that live for Of Montreal, but need the solemn studies and elaborate word play of Barret, and thirst for guitar wanderings much like Incredible String Band, and lately Richard YoungsÖ music for the young and old, go ahead and hit the bong load.

-- Loren Shimanek

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