Reviews (page 6 of 7)
So I guess I've listened to "Freak Folk" now. It's fine. I don't think a single track grabbed me in any appreciable way.
Bland outside one or two songs. This sort of indie hipster exposure is noe extinct. RIP.
that was so twee that my hoodie turned into a cardigan while i listened
Well his guitar was pretty good and had some interesting sounds and concepts, but his voice drove me crazy. Pretty out there album, not for me
Tough one. Bad voice yet Nick Drake like guitar playing. It’s like a minimalist Lumineers
Not for me
Some tears ago I used to work at a hippie co-op grocery store type place. Lots of natural supplements and the smell of patchouli was around always. While I liked the people I worked with very much, we didn't share many of the same tastes in a lot of things. I suspect many employees of that store would have liked this. I didn't.
Some undeniably beautiful sounds and musicianship...but this was just too slow and repetitive for me.
Not really my thing.
too of a time for me, but i enjoyed some moments from it
let me guess: Pitchfork really loved this, didn't they
Taking a star off for the vocals, blech
I didn't like this and found it rather boring. It's not sonically bad, it just didn't make me feel anything besides bored. I would go easier on it if this album was from the 60s or 70s, which is where it would fit, but it's from the 2000s and could be better. I don't know why this album is on this list.
Like being locked in a library full of hipsters and an overabundance of facial hair.
I had it in my head that Devendra Banhart was kind of weird and out there. But the start of “Rejoicing in the Hands” was pretty standard modern folk. I was digging it. Then “Poughkeepsie” revealed the Banhart I had been expecting. Overall, just a little too weird for me.
Freak folk
Could have been 4 songs rather than 40 minutes, I do like some of the hippy earthiness of this album but I can’t recall any song I actually liked.
bit slow
Brooding, melancholic, and folksy. Very slow overall, but not a bad sound.
Volklorisches Album mit wenigen Lichtblicken. Ich werde es mir wohl nie wieder anhören.
A little strange, but it was all right.
Song 1: :-) Song 2: :-I Song 3: :-\ Song 4: zzzz ... Song 16: zzzz 1.5
Sooooooo same-y
The guitarwork is nice, but as an overall experience, this was a bit of a boring album. The singer is not very engaging to me.
I listened to this album first thing in the morning, so I was not fully awake. I think it plays better that way. It's kind of like when you fall asleep at night watching Tubi, and wake up to the next movie playing, and say to yourself through sleepy eyes, "What the hell am I watching!?" Notable efforts, Poughkeepsie, Fall, and Insect Eyes.
I listened to it, it was fine, but confident I'll never listen to it again.
Couple stinkers on here, Track 6 is solid, 7 pretty good too - dude is growing on me a little... yeah then 8 hits - not good. track 9... his guitar playing just isn't that interesting or technically impressive. Unless this thing has a strong finish I'm going to have to give him a 2 star for the sake of consistency
Fav: Fall Notes: Not for me.
Good for the genre, just didn't love his voice or get drawn into it personally.
Semi fun acoustic music for the most part, but nothing much to write home about. I don't absolutely hate it, though I'm definitely not fussed about anything on here. Best Tracks: - Todo Los Dolores Worst Tracks: - Dogs They Make Up The Dark Rating: 4/10
Not sure what I listened to but I know I don't want to hear it again. Not that it was inherently bad, but it was definitely not for me. 2/5
folk music is the music of the people. to me, it is either an interesting listen or it is boring. there is no middle ground. sad to say that this was the latter.
I can’t remember if I listened to this months ago when it showed up on this list. It started off slow and sorta nice but it wore thin pretty quick. I bailed halfway thru.
Really? This? This of the hundreds of thousands of albums. This is top 1000. Really? A patience straining 15 songs. All around the same musical ‘ideas’. As a guitarist I wasn’t blown away by the variety. Nor the interest keeping capability. He does try though. The third song changes things up. So there’s an extra point. One of my favourite writers, Andrew Hickey, has called for a moratorium on guitar penned songs. I wonder if this was the album that drove him to that? It’s boring and inessential. Also, looking at the Wikipedia article, this isn’t even his best album. Get lost. Seriously, dimery, dump your hipster friends and get some real music fans as friends. 2 stars.
Quirky to the point of distraction. His voice occasionally verges into Tiny Tim territory, which is not good. Playing is tasteful, but unvarying. Inoffensive and positive in tone,but feels alight. This feels like a demo for a proper album. 2.5 stars, rounding down for "why is this on the list?"
Не могу сказать ничего плохого про этот альбом, как и хорошего. Просто немного не моё...
What kind of name is Devendra Banhart
Like the music, not keen on his voice - sounds a bit bleaty
I'm always up to hear a genre clash, as described in their write up, this is considered Psychadelic Folk. Its pretty lame, noodling an acoustic guitar with a bored sounding singer makes for a bad experience. I get it, its a vehicle for the powerful lyrics. As soon as something has a bit more of a positive spin (intro to The Body Breaks) they drag it back the fuck down to make you feel like shit. Also way too much vibrato and vocal fry. It was like an attempt to create something similar to Bright Eyes. Its just pretentious as fuck.
Bland annoying hippie shit
For whatever reason, Devendra Barnhart has just always given me the ick, I guess you could say. No idea why, so I’m just going to trust my guy and keep not listening to him. (Sorry if it turns out he’s a saint or something, but I’ll still not listen.)
Not feeling this one today. Boring and unremarkable.
Hey so, not my style. Boring
Alun kitaransoitto oli lupaavaa, mutta se loppuikin sitten lyhyeen. Kappaleet toistavat itseään, ja laulajan ääni ei ole erityisen miellyttävä.
Valitusvirsiä kuunnellessa. Mulla on sweet spot sellainen melankolinen dark country mikä uppoaa. Vaikka tässä nyt oli samoja vivahteita niin Devandran karismaton ja narisevaa ladon ovea muistuttava nasaali ”pyykkipoika”nenässä honottava ääni kyllä pilasi sen pienenkin mahdollisuuden säväyttää. Buu
Pretty boring, I definitely prefer his later work.
Meh. I liked This Beard is for Siobhan but not really any of the others. The instrumentation was quite nice though.
Sounds exactly like an album that someone called devendra Bernhardt would make. Can fully imagine Jess from new girl listening to it. Not for me though. Too folky and freaky. Fav song- this is the way Least fav - will is my friend Specific rating 2.4
Definitely not one of the best 1001 albums of all time
I dont enjoying it
Acoustic guitar plucking over kind of a dumb singing voice. I'm sure the lyrics were deep or whatever
Voice got annoying
This hasn’t held up well for me. Feels a bit kitschy
I really looked up to Devendra as a young teen as a fellow mixed culture/multiracial kid. But that was with his later album, Cripple Crow, which is soooo much better. I did not like his singing here - there were some flourishes of beautiful guitar work, but the vocals/lyrics/guitar/composition did not connect.
This is like a really bad Bombay Bicycle Club
Based on this, I can only assume folk music in the early-00s and mid-00s was a dark, dark time. I don't think I realized how much the *stomp, clap, "Hey!"* resuscitated the genre.
Maybe I'd appreciate this album another time but I don't think I was in the right head space for it. I found it to be a slog despite being on the short side (42 minutes).
Too self indulgent to ever be good
Favorite track: sight to behold other picks: this is the way, body breaks
I’m guessing this was Dimery’s midlife crisis era. Completely lost touch with what separates good and bad albums, and is just listening to what he perceives to be trendy with young people.
Gear: Moondrop Variations Artwork: 🦉🪵🕊️ Production: 😐🤔🤷 Music: 🎸🎤🥱 Rating: 👗👗/5
Quite a change from Fugazi! For those who would like to see Devendra, he'll be doing some concerts in the California area this Spring. I can't say this is the kind of music I generally enjoy, but I can't really rip it either. It was OK, but there were a few smiles that I found myself enjoying. Thought Todos Los Dolores was pretty good. Just got back from Puerto Rico and found myself trying to interpret the words, even going back and using the Spanish to English app to figure out what I was missing. Will is my Friend made me think of Luke and Will. Especially the line, "going to California." What's up Will! There Was Sun and Insect Eyes were decent as well. Overall, this was OK. The timing off Puerto Rico and Todos Los Dolores was perfect. I'll go right down the middle with a 2.5. 2.5
2.5 Coming off Fugazi, this felt a bit like whiplash - or maybe whatever the opposite of that is. But man, what a 2004 album - you can definitely tell this came from the indie folk, coffee shop kind of thing popular then (I think the kids call it “twee”?) In particular, this evoked thoughts of The Shins, Sufjan Stevens, and - dare I say even my precious Bright Eyes, at least at times? Unfortunately, this just feels like a mostly inferior product compared to those guys. The songs are mostly pleasant, but largely unmemorable, and man, was I bored by the end - which is a pretty bad sign if your album is only 42 minutes long and largely consists of songs that average around 2.5 minutes. Devendra at least has a voice that I kind of dug, but there wasn’t much about the music or songwriting that really interested me in particular. Songs that stuck out to me: This Is The Way - A pleasing opening to the album, though that may just be a result of fatigue having not set in yet. Tit Smoking in The Temple of Artesan Mimicry - Mostly for the title. Though, once that caught my eye, I couldn’t help but notice the backing guitar is one single note being played over and over the entire song which kind of ruined it for me. Also, I think he misspelled “artisan”? Todo Los Dolores - The restart and laughter made me think of the version of Elvis’ Pocketful of Rainbow from the Jerry Maguire soundtrack, my favorite song by the guy and arguably the superior version. This song - not that. I did kind of like the way he pronounced “Peter Pan” though. Will is My Friend - <3 I really don’t think anything here was actually that bad, and honestly, I would probably be apt to rate any one song here higher if I heard it on its own, but as an album, there was just a bit too much of this in succession. Sorry Devendra, think I’m going for my boys listed above instead when I’m feeling a twee mood. (Did I use that correctly?)
Creepy
Interesting album cover. Was enjoying it in the beginning but got bored of the guitar strumming. Read on Wikipedia that he was romantically linked to Natalie Portman.
4/10 - It was kind of boring and pretty weird. I thought it was interesting that there was a song about poughkeepsie. Also See Saw was a crazy song.
Not offensive but also not good at all
#493. Generic hipster folk 2/5: uninteresting
This has the lyrical fun that Vampire Weekend or Alt-J has, but the guitar that Simon and Garfunkel have. Just kind of a mismatch and a slog. God they need a drummer.
I just don’t know who likes this much folk music or what’s so special about this particular album.
Depressing af
The longer I listened to this the less I liked it.
Ihan ok, kivoja sanoituksia välillä. Kaikki biisit on turhan samanlaisia, melodioissa ei oo kauheesti variaatiota. Eli paljon menee ohi korvien, kun tuntuu että sama biisi jatkuu. Pidän äänimaailmasta kyllä, lempee.
This sucks.... It drones and the voice is annoying and it's that really annoying kinda folk but then I think he might be singing in a different language but I can't tell because his voice is so droney and it's shit and I hate it
Wasn't the worst thing I have heard but far from the best.
This is so awful. What on earth is it doing in this lost? It makes no sense.
"no, he's really good, but we can leave after the first half if you like"
I can appreciate the technical ability but folk music just aint my thing. Found it to be very repetitive after a while. Thnk it would have benefited from a trim and being a lot tighter, as i felt it lacked focus.
First listen. Ok.
Clearly a gifted musician but he needs to find a friend to fix his garbage lyrics
This is a good record. I should love it based on a lot of things I love. BUT I HATE IT. I think it's the vocals. IDK. Too much vibrato for me?
Eh
Nice enough, little bit different from your average acoustic album
Nothing against good Folk music, but this is just dull music with cringey lyrics. 2/5
Fairly boring. Nothing really notable in the album. 2/5 Won’t listen again
Sounds like a lamb, bit more gratuitous use of voice vibrato than Jeff Buckley or alt J, but if you can get past the voice, there is nice guitar picking in the album. 2 stars for that.
This was an investing take on the indie folk genre.
I first checked out Devendra Banhart when he was dating Natalie Portman because I figured he must be very cool to score with her. He’s okay, I don’t really enjoy his voice. Not that cool.
The album is pretty one note. Nice guitar work, rough vocals, not much else...
Just a bloke with a guitar 2/5
Sounds like I'm sitting in a coffee shop. And I don't like coffee. This is poetic folk that only has one beat and I don't really love his goat-ey voice and the acoustic guitar really gets irritating after a while. Parts are interesting, I liked the Body Breaks, that's a pretty heartbreaking song. I also liked Insect Eyes. But overall, not really my jam.
Just modern coffee shop folky nonsense. "Poughkeepsie" was one of the worst songs ever (vavavavavavivalasvegas...) like what even was that. Just another whatever kind of album. 3/10.
AA Bondy does this same thing much better. I struggle to believe the weight of these vocals and the songs themselves are missing the melodies needed for the mood he is going for.
Whiny folk music. Wasn’t a fan.
Pretty for a single song but gets repetitive
I liked the beginning and end. Cool cover art and a diverse range of influences. It is pretty forgettable tho. Doubt I ever return to this one Rating: 2.5
Listened to it 3 times, each with a few days inbetween each session. Kept forgetting to rate it after each time. I really really enjoyed listening to Tit Smoking in the Temple of Artesan Mimicry. Been on repeat for hours Shame about the rest of the album
Juvenile sounding recording style. Ok voice poorly backed by few primitive instruments.
For real though, lord save me from these dudes and these albums of just the m and the guitar. For only 40 minutes I checked if I was close to the end a whole lot.
Overall, I'm kinda like 💤💤💤 but I liked Insect Eyes and Will Is My Friend. I like maybe this slice of folk is not for me and that's ok, Devandra has a couple great songs and I'm onboard to listen to more, just after I take a lil snoooooze... Love the album art, has a sort of tribal occult vibe a la midsommar
Relaxing listen, but would not listen again 2/5
This genre is not up my alley at all. Weird creepy hippy vibes. Lots of plucking semi-tunelessly at an acoustic guitar while singing weird poetry over the top in a voice that sounds like a creaky door
Rejoicing In The Hands is pretty lo-fi folk. It’s a bit all over the place. Lyrically bazar but nice, that kinda sums it all up. This Beard is for Siobhan is the highlight for me 5.6/10
Cheesy, sleepy and very very forgettable folk music.
Rejoicing in the ears when this record finally ended.
A few I liked, but mostly a lot I did not like.
This sounds like that album that that guy wrote while locked in a cabin in Minnesota recovering from a bad breakup. While sadder and more depressing than this album, that other album is a better example of what should be on the list than this. 2.5/5
A pleasant album but not one to revisit
Well, folk is like folk, and a love story, and the struggle with loneliness, and boring images, and the difficulty of listening to it on a regular basis, everything is as usual.
Kinda serial killer vibes..
"This is the soup that I believe in" In terms of albums that don't sound horrible - but also don't make it clear why they should have a place of any kind on a list of 1001 essential albums; this one might just take the cake. The album feels like an unrefined demo tape, a proof-of-concept taped in a makeshift home studio rather than a professional recording. It sounds like it's missing a couple of additional layers, effects, instruments, as well as a general polishing of the songs. And did the outtake really need to be included in Todo los Dolores? The unfinished nature is one thing. But what else? Any particular quality in songwriting, instrumentation, singing? Any innovation? Any new social or cultural movements spawned? Inspiring or relevant lyrics? Nope. Just a collection of amateurish recording.
Never heard a song from this album, but I enjoyed it. This is a good example of why I wanted to listen to each of these albums- for discovery. That said, the instrument tracks sound better than the vocals, in terms of clean recording. I'm not sure if this was a design decision or faults in the studio. The more I listened, the more I wanted to listen to just the instruments while filtering vocals out. The warble/vibrato on such chill songs drives me crazy.
His vibrato is annoying to such an extent that it drowns anything else. The music, when recognizable, is merely a support for the singer, not much more.
I'm really not into the tiny Tim vibratos
Total snoozefest imo
I like the songs. I like the guitar playing. It's the constant vibrato in his voice I find insufferable. Mark Bolan did it better. It comes across as quite arch and pretentious. "Insect eyes" probably my favourite.
1001 albums that make you long for listening to anything else. Never heard of this guy, can’t believe the size of his catalog. I’ll assume they are similarly dull and amateurish, no way I’m gonna dig deeper.
Mixed feelings; there are some very beautiful songs on this album (e.g. The Body Breaks, Autumn's Child), but also super annoying stuff (e.g. This Beard is for Siobhan, Todo los Dolores).
He might be a fellow compatriota, but his music is really not my thing...
Listened Before? N I don't know, man. All these early-2000's hipster lo-fi bands are just kinda meh. I don't think I needed to hear this one before I die, but it didn't hurt me. Totally unmemorable. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: The Body Breaks
Some kind of folk album but not worth another listen
It's kind of interesting, but to me it just sounds like he's trying to be weird but is actually extremely conventional. This is not Claypool or Coyne, a guy who's actually from Mars. He's just got a nasally mannered voice. Part of what I don't like is that the sound is actually quite conventional. He's using only a small set of instruments, basically all acoustic. And he doesn't do much to alter that sound. It's fine. I would've never picked it out of a lineup.
Laimea ja tylsä levy joka menettää vähäisenkin kiinnostuksen useammalla soittokerralla.
Short polished moody folk tunes. A little too sad feeling for me.
I found the music quite interesting at first. From the middle of the album onwards, it got on my nerves, so I stopped listening. I'll probably never listen to it again and won't miss anything. 2/5
Na
Maybe 2 stars isn’t fair but that’s all I could give it after a single listen. It wasn’t overly bad just didn’t do much for me.
Sounds like a goat sometimes
If I wanted something that sounds like folk era T Rex, I'd probably just go for folk era T Rex.
Whiny Psychedelic Folk.
I kind of understand the appeal for people trying to rebel against over-produced perfectionist music. But it's not for me.
Just really could not get into it.
Not for me
Kind of annoying, but not bad enough for 1 star. Almost bad enough though, like really, really close.
Parts were okay and parts were just weird
Started out ok. Got tiresome the more I listened.
I really liked track one, This Is The Way. Track four lost me a bit with a two-note melody and poetry-reading like lyrical cadence that included gibberish. Not sure what all that had to do with Poughkeepsie. By track eight, See Saw, I just wanted his vocals to stop. The guitar isn't unpleasant, but not skillful by any stretch. Todo Los Dolores is nice but also feels very amateur, like someone recorded your big brother playing guitar and making up words that sound Spanish. Not going to listen again.
1. dårlig, 2. meh, 3. dårlig, 4. dårlig, 5. dårlig, 6. dårlig/meh, 7. dårlig/meh Klarte ikke høre resten. Kjedelig album. Overall: 4/10
This dude is purposely annoying. He could use his unique voice for good but clearly chooses violence. Lousy writing, performance, and production.
Occasionally interesting but not consistently so. Definitely can hear how snippets are better suited for soundtrack fodder than full on sustained listening as a collective album.
Similar to Tyrannosaurus Rex before they went electric, but with worse lyrics, a less interesting voice, more samey and not released in the 60s. Not great, just background noise
Didn't do much for me.
Okay
Ugh, 2 stars
Aggressively Millennial folk. Not much beneath the surface. A lot of talk of beards.
he's a talented guitar player but otherwise I really did not enjoy this.
ehh this just didn't hit for me. it felt like any number of acoustic indie folk types, y'know, your irons & wines or bon ivers or sufjan stevenses or whatever but without that indie je ne sais quois that makes them interesting or passionate or fun to listen to. i tried with this one, but the only song i enjoyed as more than a "hmm that's nice enough i guess" was Poughkeepsie, because it had a kind of B.Y.O.B. by System of a Down vibe to its melody (though not any other part of its sound). anyway, in summary, meh. favorites: Poughkeepsie, tit smoking...
Nice
not terrible but doesn't strike me as an album worthy of being included
Weird hippy shit. I’ve heard worse. I’ve heard way better No choice cut
Worthless. I will never listen to this again, and there’s no reason for this to be on this list. Unnecessary to a serious degree. I’m only rating it two because it is music.
Rejoicing in the Hands presents raw songcraft reminiscent of a lost 60s gem. The album opens and closes with beautiful tracks that capture Banhart's unique style and storytelling ability. There's a noticeable nod to Spanish guitar throughout, adding depth to the sound. However, the middle section of the album starts to feel a bit repetitive after a while. While each track maintains a certain charm, there's a lack of variation that makes it lose some of its initial allure. Overall, it's a solid effort showcasing Banhart's talent, but it falls short of delivering a consistently engaging experience throughout. NUMBER OF BANGERS - 2 STAND OUT TRACK - This is the Way
Not as completely hideous as I thought it might be when I read the wiki. Currently up to 'Fall' and although I will never listen to this ever again, it's well done for what it is. Which is a strange man who can play an acoustic guitar extremely well without any, or minimal accompaniment. It's quite an achievement. Now finished it and it gets a high 2 for being melodic and interesting in a totally unChrislike way.
Good instrumentals, but his voice is tough to listen to.
It’s a’right
Acoustic folk-rock. Not sure why an album that sold so few copies is in this list - it's OK, but why choose this album over, for example, a Cat Stevens album? His voice reminds me of early Tyrannosaurus Rex, but not sure if that's what makes Devendra Banhart a psychedelic folk musician as there's nothing particularly psychedelic about this album.
A little too laid back acoustic for me, but I’ll bet there’s a lot here for the right people.
Before listening: 2004? Brown sketches on the cover. My God, I think this might be a folk album! My least favourite modern genre and I blame Mumford and Suns. I hope it isn't but I'm almost certain this is modern folk. After listening: My most hated of all modern genres strikes again! But perhaps I shouldn't be too harsh as I did like some of the songs and they were all the length of an average Ramones song so I can't complain too much
Had high hopes for this based on the first track and the description but it got off the rails pretty quickly.
Nah
This FEELS like a singer-songwriter album from 2004, and i'm not sure that's a compliment.
Insufferable cunt in both name and music
No rejoicing today. Plenty of yawning.
dxxyydd😙😙
no, devendra. i am not here to get this baby dancing. chill stream of semi-consciousness, with some relaxing music.
Alan McGee had it right.
Annoying voice
I've been holding off rating this for a while because I wasn't fully paying attention the first time I listened to it and wanted to give it another shot when I could focus. The music seemed very typical of folk (which isn't necessarily bad, as I'm a fan of folk). All the tracks sounded very similar for the most part, which I think is at least somewhat intentional to give it a cohesive sound. But there was also something kind of creepy about it, so I wanted to give a closer look to the lyrics and see if that was where the fuss about this album came from. But with every passing day, I just can't seem to make myself put the album on again. There's a new assignment to listen to, and plenty of other good music to keep me occupied during the rest of the day. I just don't want to come back to this one. So, I feel like I have my answer. If there's no pull to listen to this album again, how good can it really be (at least to me)? 2/5
this one is just Devendra and his guitar. Not sure why it's on here - he definitely has more interesting songs and sounds and this one feels pretty run of the mill.
This sounds like a demo session, but in a good way. It's also very silly. One playing was sufficient
4.5/10
Eh it's okay. Some okay songs
Not my thing. Good production but definitvely not the type of music Im into.
Oof not in the mood
Weird acoustics with bizarrer lyrics that feel like they would only make sense when incredibly high.
Boring and one dimensional.
Never heard of her/him. This is the way - seems like it was recorded in her kitchen with cats and dogs Sight to behold - OTT. Rejoicing in the Hands - only half decent track .... Can't take to the voice, style of singing. Nothing to hear here. Move along folks It's a 2
I really wanted to like this. The melodic guitar and moody yet soulful rhythms are right up my street, but as the album went on, one track merged into another and I got more and more disappointed. No stand out tracks and about as far away from "must listen" as possible.
Disappointing
It was good enough, will probably never be a folk rock kinda guy. Will I listen to again: 0%
I didn't get it. Perhaps it was brilliant and if I spent weeks with it I would understand it. I don't. It seemed like an album of demos.
His voice, reminds me of Marc Bolan but without the quality. It's ok as an album but does drag on a bit.
00s freak folk with some Venezuelan/Spanish influences - musically it was good here and there but I didn't really like his voice/singing style. And honestly, I'm not quite sure why this album must be listened before I die.
some boring folk. you know, the type of folk that someone says to you : "hey i know that great underground folk band" but really it is not much different than the rest. just a bit less poppy. 5/10
Lovely guitar work, thematically a little hit or miss, but lyrically interesting enough to keep my attention. Yet I'm finding the warbling tentative tone of most of the singing is driving me up a wall. Some songs were better about it but overall I found this album pretty annoying.
Sorry. No but thanks for trying.
Not my vibe
Don’t know why this is on here really, not sure what the appeal is at all
Nope, didn't like this.
The album is quite relaxing but there are one or two tracks that I just wouldnt listen to again.
No offense to Devendra Barnhart, but I didn’t find anything particularly revelatory on this album. Don’t get me wrong, its fine and has some enjoyable moments, and I might be unfair in evaluating albums from 2000 onwards more harshly, but I don’t think this is an essential listen before you die.
Wouldn't have been crying in Heaven if I'd missed this one ngl
It's alright, he has an interesting voice and guitar chops, he just doesn't use them to make music I find appealing to listen to.
This is apparently psychedelic folk; definitely leans more on the folk than it does the psychedelic. It's not very interesting really, a few different influences and styles but it's still pretty samey, doesn't particularly stand out from the bajillion other singer/songwriter albums with a voice that would've been unconventional had everyone with that style of voice not become singer/songwriters. 2/5.
DB is one of those artists whose name I have known forever, but have never checked out (other than that one good Arthur Russel cover). Maybe my good intuition has stopped me. Stripped down folk music is very intuitive; if it doesn’t click instantly, it probably never will. This album does not click. Something about it seems disingenuous to me, which is an instant disqualification in this genre. 2.2
eeehhhggg
It was pleasant but didn’t excite me at all. The acoustic strumming was nice… guy’s voice kinda annoyed me to be very honest. I get he was trying to create a certain folk-y sound, but it came off as unnatural and over-exaggerated to me. V-v-v-v-v-v-v-v ….. make it stop! Lol
I can see how a certain minority group of people might find this album intriguing. But, generally speaking, as far as the vast majority of humanity is concerned, this is no album to die for or anything remotely close.
Vage hippie muziek
1. This is the way - 3 meh 2. A sight to behold - 4 alt j vibes 3. The body breaks- 2 4. Poughkeepsie- 1 B.b.b.b.bad 5. Dogs they make the dark - 3 6. Will is my friend- 2 7. This beard is for Siobhan- 2 8. See saw - 1 9. Tit smoking in the temple of artesan mimicry - 3 title is too grandiose for how short the song is -1 point 10. Rejoicing in the hands - 2 11. Fall- 4 12. Todos los Dolores - 2 13. When the sun shone on vetiver - 2 14. There was sun - 2 15. Insect eyes - 2 So repetitive 16. Autumn's child - 3
S Tier————————— A Tier————————— Tit Smoking In The Yada Yada The Body Breaks Will Is My Friend Fall Insect Eyes B Tier————————— Rejoicing In The Hands There Was Sun Autumn’s Child Todo Los Dolores A Sight To Behold This Is The Way When The Sun Shone On Vetiver Dogs They Make Up The Dark Poughkeepsie C Tier————————— This Beard Is For Siobhan See Saw D Tier—————————
Doesn’t do it for me
yeah so i think this one isn't for me. i am not adverse to folk, or weird voices, in fact, a lot of the music i enjoy fits those categories. there's just something about the songwriting here that does nothing for me. mostly i don't think it's awful, but sometimes the songwriting made me make a (not good) face. just not for me, i think
Entretenido pero poco más. Te tiene que gustar el estilo cantautor porque si no es complicado. Con estos músicos con tantos discos es complejo recomendar algo suyo como imprescindible. Me gustó The body breaks, Autumn's child y la gracieta en español de Todos los dolores. Este disco es complicado que sea algo imprescindible a escuchar.
Modern folk. Not used to hearing it. Kinda enjoyed it. A little boring. 2.
It’s like I should be smoking a joint out in a garden with Devendra playing
Tranquilo, relajado, pausado, sosegado. Sin ninguna chispa ni nada que le haga distintivo
Kudos to Devendra for developing an interesting sound and some strong ideas. Still, I lump this in with a lot of the early 2000s chill acoustic music that generally leaves me cold - Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, etc. Not bad music, but nothing that gets around me, either.
Albumas neprailgo, bet visiiškai niekuom neįsiminė. Vieną kartą perklausyti - super, bet aš nesu tokios muzikos auditorija. 2/5
Not a huge fan of this.
I tried but that voice travels from different to irritating pretty quickly.
On paper this is an album that I should like but there's something about it that feels like it's trying to hard to be sensitive/interesting folk music especially with the vaguely eastern musical tinges. I can deal with the voice; that style of singing was popular at the time and it's inescapable. The music itself is pleasant if not a bit bland. The lyrics are very uneven. There are some lines that are thoughtful and some that make me cringe. Overall, I didn't hate the album and it is not too long, but I just couldn't get into it.
I liked this to start with, but it soon became cloying and annoying. Like The White Stripes if they didn't know what the fuck they were doing.
This album is weird, but not really in a good way. This guy is like Nick Drake if he didn’t want to sing nicely. Seriously, these vocal stylings are weird, and I don’t like them. The rest of it’s generic. 2, because I don’t really hate it.
Snooze fest
It's certainly an interesting delivery, but it's not for me. I can't tell if he's just weird and singing his truth or putting on airs. Probably the former, but the thought that it might be the latter makes it hard to enjoy.
Not really any substance.
kinda a nothing album indie folk if I had to put a genre to it
Not my thing. It’s not that the songs were bad per se, I just did not like it. DNF.
not bad, just not my style at all
# 15: MEH! Sounds like something my granddad would play around the campfire. Nothing special. You'd probably have to be a musicians musician to appreciate this. My favourite track: Fall
avg
Nah. I don't like one sappy man and his guitar music
I didn't really like this album too much. it was alright to listen to but I wouldn't go back to it cause it's pretty boring and no tracks really stood out.
This voice really annoyed me quite a lot. Some alright songwriting, but the sound of the guitar and the vocals I found pretty off putting. Probably not a bunch of standout tracks either. Didn’t connect with this much.
"We have Passenger at home" Passenger at home: this
Slow folk with a repetitive style. Not something I would relisten to. Jose Gonzalez vibes.
Not for me, massively
Eh. Not sure what to say. Meandering storytelling over acoustic guitar music. Some good, some bad. Fine, but not 1001 albums worthy.
I didn't really like this album, it was nice to have in the background I guess.
Never heard of the artist or record. On first listen... A nice mellow record. Singer has a nice voice... music is acoustic guitar driven. I will not listen to this again, as it's not my favorite groove... but decent sounding. Get's a little annoying after 1 song or so...
Every horrific acoustic-wielding singer-songwriter I have endured at open mic nights for the past 20 years seems to have been inspired by this. I think there were possibly 2 songs I enjoyed and one of those was definitely because he didn't sing on it!
very lo fi and a bit...dull
Here I thought this would be easy and quick listening. That was really, really weird.
Listened to a handful of songs. Not my jam
No song that really sticks out and overall a weary folk album. It's too mellow. The production quality is almost recorded as a live album. Devendra Banhart is definitely not for me and I won't go back and listen to this.
Devendra Banhart is new to me. His voice is quite affected which I don't love, I favour a more authentic vocal. Instrumentation is very pretty but not that varied or unusual, kind of basic guitar piano etc. There is an Asian feel to some of the tracks with the vibrato and guitar style but it doesn't quite get there for me, almost like it's trying to achieve that and failing to do so. I can't decide whether the lyrics are clever or just a bit bullshit haha. Some parts are really lovely and poetic and I do really understand how hard this is to achieve. In places it kind of reminds me of Alexi Murdoch who I love love love but it feels less exciting and less unique to me. But still beautiful. I don't think I'd come back to this as it's not memorable enough. I can see why this music has been used in some films and adverts... It's very standard trendy advert kind of music some of it.
Boring boring boring. Didn't like this at all
That fucking warble.
Pretty dull. I could see maybe enjoying some of these songs on their own but listening to a whole album of it is just no good.
Hmmm not sure
Escuché 8 canciones y me parecieron espantosas. El disco tiene 16. Ni empedo sigo escuchando. Y le doy un 2 porque tiene algo de mérito, porque sino...
Repetitive, but when it works, it works
Oof, sounds like an amalgamation of everything from Jason Mraz to George Ezra, which is certainly not a complement. Vox got really, really grating about halfway through the record. Not an enjoyable listen.
coffee shop
Folk chill coffee shop music
I actually am a big fan of some folk music out there. Unfortunately, this will not be counted in that. I guess it was okay, at times very pleasant but other times annoying. I didn't hate it.
Reminiscent of Elliott Smith, but not in the "everyone should hear this" category at all. 2/5
Pleasant but dull
Found this to be a very dull and boring album. It's not terrible but it's just not the type of music I enjoy.
I have problems with the contrived vocals, as actually holds for many singer songwriters. The songs themselves are of mixed quality.
Kind of slow. Had some good songs but I probably wouldn’t be excited to listen to it again.
A lot of really pretty guitar licks on this album but the overall “hippy dippy” vibe really irks me, not least because Devendra’s voice is a clone of Marc Bolan. I don’t tend to let an individual component of an album grate on me to the point of disruption, but the fact is he had to have listened to this record back, and he actually proceeded to release such a shameless pastiche of those early Tyrannosaurus Rex records. That being said, a couple of the more instrumental tracks are lovely, and they make you wonder what Devendra Banhart’s melodic strengths could have done in the hands of a more capable vocalist/lyricist (the pseudo-quirky gibberish on this album reeks of try-hard energy). A bit of a forgettable listen, even if it has its moments.
Unknown...
Cool, I'll rotate some of these on a playlist the next time I trip. Not sure my attention span could take 42 minutes of this though, sober or not. Would have to play a few at a time cause they don't even sound complete on their own. I'm a fan of the surreal imaginative lyrics, mystical instruments, and ghastly vocals (including the multi-tracks). It's enjoyable and I can get behind its simplicity, but bands like Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear took the genre way further just a few years later. For my later trips: This is the Way, A Sight to Behold, Poughkeepsie, This Beard Is For Siobhan, Fall, When the Sun Shone on Vetiver, Insect Eyes
So I think I like it on a very passive level. I like his voice, but more for his delivery in a Leonard Cohen kind of way than his "singing" in the conventional musical sense. I see the Jeff buckley comparison, but Jeff's in a totally different league (range, tone, emotion and everything else) imo. I do really enjoy the guitar playing though. It's simple and repetitive, but feels very soothing and brain-massaging - it's like a warm hug. I also like how stripped back it is, mostly for the fact that all other musical inclusions (piano, electric geetar and drums in particular) and throughout the album feel more significant and tastefully selected because of it. But I agree that it's static, and I also found it quite boring at times. It doesn't have enough magic or X factor to carry it's minimalism
Just could not get into it but still okay
A bit modern, a bit tradish, rather folky, quite nice, a bit boring. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: This Is the Way Date listened: 13/09/22
Calming and nice music. But his voice sucks.
Was excited to listen to a more modern folk album. Then I listened to this and thought sometimes the list of 1001 albums may be wrong. This was pretty mediocre and seemed to be a hodge podge of random words thrown together with a guitar. This was a pretty boring album. 3.7/10
acoustic, poetic text (I guess), short songs (I've heard one that only had 1 sentence), cowboy voice, going wild at the guitar to apoint where it's more noise than music
This is so 2004 it’s crazy.
Hmmm...captivating at first, then it remains more of the same to my ears.
I didnt enjoy this. I might move if I was at a coffee shop.
Started off ok and had some glimpses of enjoyable but overall couldn't wait for it to be over. 1.6
twang twang twang, random lyrics, twang twang twang
Started off nice and felt pleased of getting a low key album. But then as it went on I got bored and more irritated.
Not my thing
eh, good songwriting
meh
4/10. I don't understand what's supposed to make this good.
Actually really didn't care for this. It was kind of creepy and the wavering vocals got annoying quick. 4/10
Let me start off by saying that I didn't dislike this album, I found a few tracks rather enjoyable, but it just got too monotonous for me after about the 30 minute mark. I definitely enjoyed the second half of the record a lot more than the first. That being said, I will probably never listen to this album ever again in my life, nothing here will probably ever stick with me (besides the title track, I really rather enjoyed that song) but that's completely fine. 2.5/5
Cantautor. No de mi gusto
Well this is a laugh a minute.
Very boring. This was a harsh let down after Stevie Wonder yesterday, damn. It was pleasant enough to have on while I fed my son breakfast this morning but I don’t care about it or for it at all.
Look at this nerd
Total ass. The music was nice, the singing was awful.
didn't really get what this was all about, ultimately just bored me after the initial intrigue.
Spent most of this album thinking "what the heck is he going on about?!". Lovely sounding guitar playing, but felt like some weird passive aggressive overtones going on here.
2/5 can't really say I liked it.
trökigt men med känsla
Meh
Guess my brain just lacks the correct neurochemicals to find this music appealing. There isn't a single anchor point here to make me want to listen to this kind of folk.
Got old quick
Favourite songs- Autumn's Child, This Is the Way. Just got a bit boring- so many tracks, that all sound quite similar. Love some of the songs though.
Boring.
First time listening: 4/16 songs liked. Eh. Old folk music is my thing, but modern folk singers tend to inflect a weird tone in their singing voice that doesn't vibe with me. Mumford and sons, while I like them a lot, have that voice too. No songs saved
Quirky, acoustic Woodstock-esque, but there’s one or two gems in there if you stick with it.
Acoustic folk, not bad!
Not as good as I remembered. Quite plodding and not very memerable
oh putain du folk je vais pas aimer fav : insect eyes ?
Lovely guitar picking. Some good indie/folk tunes. Not keen on his voice.
I can appreciate what Banhart is doing on this record, as you can hear the traditional folk influences of Cohen and Jansch, but unfortunately the individual parts don't seem to add up to much. The lyrics seem a little nonsensical, and not in a charming way, but more in a overtly obtuse way. Feels like he's messing around at times without a full vision of what he wants to do, like scraps of paper in a journal. Fav Tracks: N/A
I feel like Devandra Banhart is kind of like best-case-scenario for open mic night at the gulf island coffee shop. His vaudeville, psych folk instincts are in turns brilliant and grating. The free-association wordplay is more often pretentious than deep or insightful. I can definitely appreciate him in smaller doses, but the results here are really mixed to my ear. Favourite song: "Todos Los Dolores"
Bit samey, tunes aren't bad but the voice is a bit annoying.
Interesting album very easy listening excellent guitar skills but not my cup of tea
meh. I wanted to like this more than i did.
While not my favourite style of music I do give an approving nod to the complexities and the beautiful sounds of acoustic guitar finger picking & slides these songs are full of. The album though, is too mellow for me. I just won’t want to sit and actively listen anymore than is needed for me to perform this review. 2 Stars
did not listen