Rejoicing In The Hands

A friend of mine had me listen to this when it came out. I haven't spoken to them since.

Think Tiny Tim crossed with a six year old song writing. Pluck pluck guitar and this annoying high pitched voice this is truly awful. Let's be honest truly awful is better than just meh. Think there's a woman singing on rejoicing the hands. Unfortunately he decides to sing along with her.

This is what unseasoned chicken would sound like

I started off liking this a little. The first three tracks fit my mood for the day. It starts kinda sparse and sullen, with a pinch of melancholy. But then it just kept going.. and going. This isn't the longest album we've had -- not by a long shot -- but damned if it wasn't a chore. I think this guy's warbling voice gimmick quickly ran it's course with me. I love the movie "Eagle vs. Shark" and recognized the one track from it. That song fits the mood and tone of the movie, at that point IN the movie, perfectly. Congrats. But a whole album of this? Tiresome and tedious. Secondly, is this album 'essential'?? Absolutely and emphatically **NOT**. More filler from Dimery and co. I'm beginning to cement the idea in my mind that music from the mid-00s through the 10s is either a) categorically worse than the music that came before it (have we run out of ideas?) <or> b) I'm a grouchy old man who doesn't have the capacity to like anything newer than late 90s/early 00s stuff.. It's one of those two things. (2/5), but only because I'm trying to give this crap a chance.

I tried. I really, really tried. There is some pretty impressive guitar on this one, and it has a throwback sound that at times belies its 2004 release, reminiscent of Cat Stevens, Jim Croce or Frank Zappa. But the singing and lyricism here is absolute buns, stuffed to the gills with pseudo-intellectual, proto-philosophical hot garbage, and I found myself more and more annoyed with it as it went on. By "There Was Sun," all benefit of doubt was withdrawn, and I was unable to finish each of the remaining tracks. For its instrumentation alone I wanted to give it at least a 2/5, but find it difficult to round up to there.

There is some outstanding guitar picking on this album. I usually will love an acoustic guitar like this. I enjoyed the instrumental track, which tells you about the rest of the album. Yeah, all of the good guitar bits are wasted on the cringiest song writing I’ve yet encountered on this project and we’ve had albums by Morrissey, 10cc, and The Happy Mondays. Also, I recoiled from whatever this dude was trying to do with his voice on most of the tracks. Overall, not a good album experience. 1/5

6. Rejoicing In The Hands - Devendra Banhart (2004) 9.26.26 Variety: 1 Adequacy: 3 Listenability: 2 Uniqueness: 1 Emotionality: 1 = 1.6 rounded up to a 2 "And the breast on her chest is where I take my rest/ Is where I have my fun/ Is where I have my fun/ Mm hmm hmm hmm" To my knowledge I've never heard more than a snippet of this guy's music. I've always gotten strong modern hippie vibes off of him ( I've made my loathing of the whole hippie vibe apparent on previous reviews. Theoretically, given my social and poitical views you would thing I would align quite well with this worldview, but alas, no - I find the culty, shiftless, hedonistic stuff to be gross and offputting in the extreme) which doesn't make for a good starting off spot. Strike number two is that he ( along with Suftjan Stevens, who I have similar issues with) has been a favorite amongst several people I know who I will not describe otherwise except to say they have very untrustworthy taste. Strike number three is that not only do I get hippie vibes off of him, even worse is those vibes are of the crunchy granola, yoga mat, man-bun variety. Going completely out on a limb here, he gives the vibe of someone raised in a weird culty southern California commune/ sect, and probably has failed actor parents who sent him to the school from Billy Jack. (Edit: had to look this up, and based on what little info I could find his mother was a model, and the family did follow some spiritual guru. However he's from Texas originally and only later moved to California. But still - pretty good guesses, right?). All this said, I usually like to go into an album giving the artist the benefit of the doubt. Someone in my group suggest that I likely start at a 4, and would agree with that. These albums made the cut, as subjective as it was, so there are apparently a lot of people who see the artistic merit. Then, depending on how things go they can move up or down that ladder as I listen. Let's see if I can clear my mind of all preconceived notions, remove myself from the earthly plane, focus on my mantra ,and open up my third eye to make myself receptive to some more positive vibes... THE TRACKS "This Is the Way" - Hmmm. Not off to a great start. Despite my slight exaggeration in the intro, I do in fact have some tolerance for hippie shit. If it's good. I love me some Cat Stevens for example. The Grateful Dead I've grown to appreciate more and more. This is exactly the sort of thing I expected to hear. It's cloying and precious, but not in a charming way. A lot of it has to do with Banhart's voice. He sounds like an elderly goblin doing an Al Jolson impersonation. That affected curling of his vowels ( could this be considered cursive singing? and the warbling stutter he adds did nothing to endear me to the brand of folk he's selling. "A Sight to Behold" - Atmosphere on this was good, and leaned towards something a bit epic in nature with the strings and intense acoustic guitar work, but damn that voice... "The Body Breaks" - This one started off very pretty, and felt like it was going in maybe amore whimsical playful direction, but no such luck. It was all schmaltzy romance vibes. Also, ewww... Is this a song about Davendra's sexy times? No thanks. With those vocals I'm picturing David the Gnome and his wife Lisa getting it on. "Poughkeepsie" - The count in on this just made it more annoying somehow, but the guitar work and even the melody was ok on this one. The pronunciation of floor as "flar" rhyming with door pronounced "dar". Jesus, dude. You are not in a 1930s Betty Boop cartoon. I could see someone like Joanna Newsome pulling this off and doing the instrumentation justice maybe. Will have to split the difference on the quality here. "Dogs They Make Up the Dark" - This one felt, well... darker. The guitar melody here slowed down and with some colder production might would not feel completely out of place on an Allogach album, which is impressive. And it's the shortest track on the album, which automatically puts it in running for the best! Which even makes the vocals far less distracting. "Will Is My Friend" - I get it, you really want this to have a homey, live feel. The warm, hissy production is doing all that work for you. We don't need any more countdowns. Oh my god, the affected vocals are even worse on this one. Is this just what he sounds like? Am I being cruel about a grown man's speech impediment? Am I a bully? I'm ok with that. I'm sure this guy is a millionaire many times over ( somehow) and this does not feel like punching down. "This Beard Is for Siobhán" - His voice actually works ok here. He's using the kind of old 1920s jazz phrasing and the guitar is approximating the sort of "every song is a novelty song" feel of the stuff from that period. It borders on charming. Just. I'd so much rather listen to Andrew Bird if I want some old timey nostalgia music. I'll give him his props here though. "See Saw" - So close my man. Just take a bit more English off of those vowels but keep the folkie forest troll vibes and this could actually maybe be kind of haunting and pretty. "Tit Smoking in the Temple of Artesan Mimicry" - What a title. This better be hilarious or super pretentious to live up to expectations. But what's this? A song where I don't have to listen to him sing! This was fine. It's fine. Worth 1:25 of real estate though? "Rejoicing in the Hands" - Oooh. He can sing like a normal person. I'm guessing he toned things down when he found out a legit minor folk legend agreed to sing a duet with him. This kind of makes me hate the other stuff even more knowing it could have been much better. This was pretty, if slight, and benefitted enormously from Vashti Bunyan's participation. Of you listen to any of the recommendations at the bottom, at least listen to this track by her, which blows anything on this album out of the water: "Train Song" by Vashti Bunyan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hswWRRk4vAo&list=OLAK5uy_nisrHSVgxesojmebWjHnC1_peHtqs0EN8&index=3 "Fall"- More good guitar, and even some percussion. I am so sick of his voice though at this point I'm tolerating the full runtimes of the songs. To skip them would feel like defeat. "Todos los Dolores" - More count offs! Sure , ok. oh, HAHAHAHA how charming, they left in the fuck up! Man, this Davendra guy is so authentic and natural. I'm sure that wasn't rehearsed several times. I'm impressed you can sing in Spanish. Truly. It does make his vocals a bit less awful, but not enough to matter much. Very off putting presentation in that it was trying to give demo vibes. "When the Sun Shone on Vetiver" - Nope. "There Was Sun" - An attempt at some old timey blues is admirable, but the delivery was borderline unbearable. This sounds like a song Jack White would do as a joke in between real songs to amuse the recording engineers. "Insect Eyes" - more blues folk, somewhat less offensive, but I really didn't need to hear Davendra's sexy voice, on the "Mm hmm hmm hmm" part which sounds like Yoda got into Luke's BlueChew stash. "Autumn's Child" - This was awful AND boring. Let Lana Del Rey re-record this and maybe you're on to something. HIGHLIGHTS - "Dogs They Make Up the Dark" - "This Beard Is for Siobhán" - "Rejoicing in the Hands" MIDLIGHTS - "Poughkeepsie" - "See Saw" - "Tit Smoking in the Temple of Artesan Mimicry" LOWLIGHTS - "This Is the Way" - "A Sight to Behold" - "The Body Breaks" - "Will Is My Friend" - "Fall" - "Todos los Dolores" - "When the Sun Shone on Vetiver" - "There Was Sun" - "Insect Eyes" FINAL THOUGHTS This all sort of blended together for me into a very samey stew, with no memorable melodies to speak of and nothing to disabuse me of any of my presupposed notions. On top of that, I grew to hate Barnhart's voice. I have to ask myself who is this music even for? Without getting too mean, I suspect there are legions of crystal collecting, essential oil using, Starbucks moms who love this thing, and more power to them I guess. I'm wracking my brain to try and think of anything positive to say about it. Okay, his guitar playing was quite good throughout, even if I didn't find much of it catchy enough to differentiate from track to track. The production is warm and all around good, and this does indeed feel like a professional attempt at ... something. I don't get the sense that Banhart is trolling or trying to be annoying or offensive or anything. The fact that he committed these boring, unmemorable tracks the record convinces me that he must have thought this was some good shit. That sort of misguided artistic intent at least keeps him out of the 1-star club, reserved for cynical assholes and the bafflingly untalented. Nothing on here makes me want to ever explore the man's discography anu further though, and it fully misses me in any sort of pleasurable way. This is the type of music I would expect to hear playing at an overpriced vegan cafe, so it has it's place in the music ecosystem. But it's just not my thing, and I think even as a representative of its kind, it falls well short. I'm sure there is a version of this sort of thing I could at least respect, if not like, but this is not it. And this is at least 75% or more because of his voice. Bjork can get away with this stuff, but c'mon man, you're from Texas. Possible turn-Offs might include: - grating, affected vocals - very dumb lyrics - strong hippie folk vibes You Might enjoy this if you: - larp as a gnomish alchemist, and need some inspirational music to psyche you up before a session - are not very picky about what you listen to PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - none of this is for me FURTHER LISTENING Precursors: - Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind – Singles and Demos 1964 to 1967 by Vashti Bunyan - Starsailor by Tim Buckley - Basket of Light by Pentangle Contemporaries: - Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs Andrew Bird - Transfiguration of Vincent by M. Ward - I See a Darkness by Bonnie Prince Billie - The Creek Drank the Cradle by Iron & Wine - by Andrew Bird - The Milk-Eyed Mender by Joanna Newsom - Descendants: - Chemtrails over the Country Club by Lana Del Rey - Thunder Follows the Light by Mutual Benefit - I Need to Start a Garden by Haley Heynderickx - Moon in Gemini by Isik Kural

Started off well with great guitar plucking and a folksy vibe. That lasted all of 30 seconds before it dropped off a cliff when he started 'singing'. I'm sire his mum was proud, but unfortunately the music world might have been a better place if someone had been honest with him about whether he could sing or not. I really wanted to like it, and did enjoy the guitar play and also the female vocals on one track were beautiful. A shame he chose to sing too. Sorry 1/5

7/10

ive heard this before. i didnt like it then and i dont like it now, though i will admit i liked it more than i remembered. maybe after 3 or 4 more listens ill find it tolerable. as it stands its like dylan was a better guitarist and somehow an even worse singer.

XPN would always tell us when Devendra Banhart was playing locally. But they never played his music. Probably because people who like his music would want to know he was around and go see him live and everyone else didn’t want to hear his music at all. There’s some singers from this era and of this style that I really like. He’s not one of them.

A lovely little slice of folk rock. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 4. This album feels like finding someone else’s tattered diary in your dreams. It is incredibly abstract, in ways that feel mysterious at times, clear at others, and yet there’s never really anything that feels solved throughout. That said, it’s generally calming, and you can tell Devendra’s got a good, positive head on his shoulders. I’m pretty sure that the first track establishes that he’s the type to look on the bright side even when the world has given him every off ramp to choose the negative side, and it reaffirms that throughout the album. In totality, these tracks feel loosely centered around a zest for the gift of life & being grateful that we can even feel pain to begin with. It doesn’t diminish the impact of that pain, and I’d argue it even leans into nihilism at times. It’s generally looking towards the light, though. Of course, this is all from my interpretations of these tracks. I only think I have a framework for half of them. It’s why I called it a tattered diary; there’s nothing overly concrete here. Take a track like “Will Is My Friend”; I think it’s about getting lost in the past, with very loose connective strands of memories that create a rabbithole. One thing leads to another, and then you’ve got to snap your brain back to the original memory you were trying to express in the first place. Even if that feels right, I can’t say for sure. That applies to most of the album. Some of them are more lighthearted; “Rejoicing in the Hands” struck me as a child waiting for their mother to hold them after a long night. Some are darker, like “Insect Eyes” seemingly being about a relationship where an evil twist is inevitable, even if I can’t tell who corrupted who. The thing that makes this album really work is entirely in the vocal performance adding onto that dreamy vibe; this is recorded in a way that feels localized. The echo in the room, the lack of extra bombast (for the most part), & the homely guitar throughout all accentuate the dynamic approach in his vocals. It makes for an interesting listen, even if you can’t really comprehend what the fuck he means at times. I think this album has a handful of weak spots where it’s just not as interesting & a bit too confusing to really feel captivated. “Poughkeepsie” & “See Saw” are probably the two that bit at me the worst. When the abstract stuff works, it really works; “Fall” & “When the Sun Shone on Vetiver” both felt like highlights to me, even though I can’t really tell you what either are about. The main reason I’m at a 4 is because the album doesn’t make the strongest first impression in its opening tracks, plus it feels a little long & a little same-y throughout. I think a few tracks could’ve tightened up their structures too, as there’s little pitfalls of looping guitar patterns that feel noticeable at times. All of that said, I found myself charmed by the end of it. It’s a tattered diary, yes, but it feels like one you’d find in a dream with the coziest sleep you’ve ever had. Devendra just does something here that mostly makes it a compelling listen, save for a few tracks. Hence, a 4. I think it earns a place on the list, if only to challenge a listener a bit.

I don't know what to do here. I was so confused as to what I was listening to ...Folk? 60's? Alternative? I forced myself to listen twice just to see if I was missing something? Nope.

description sounded cooler than it was.

He's been a good artist over the years. Don't think any albums stand out though.

Easy guitar music

Some of it was really good and some of it was really weird. Seems like an excellent musician.

A Sight to Behold

sometimes interesting, sometimes annoying. not sure why he sings that way....it's weird. I'm also confused how this album belongs on a list of albums you need to hear before you die.

Chill and aight

This is an overall pretty chill album, surprisingly from this millennium. I enjoyed leaving it in the background while I was doing other things and even the least-listened-to songs were actually pretty enjoyable.

I recognized the name, but can’t seem to find the particular song or reason why. I think you’ve got to be in the right mood for an album like this, it was just okay.

One of those acoustic albums that could have been recorded during Frieren's adventures. I can't get behind the voice and there aren't a lot of catchy melodies to stick to here (2.5).

Tää oli ihana! Varmasti jää kuunteluun. Jotain Nick Drake-vibaa mikä oli tosi miellyttävää. Rauhallista, mukavaa

Beautiful guitar paired with the most annoying singing voice I have heard outside of the 80's

I actually kind of like this. It's very reminiscent of that era of alternative music, and hit right on a Monday morning. Maybe not worthy of the list, but I liked it overall. 4*. As a spanish speaker, I found "todo los dolores" hard to listen to. It was like a preschooler throwing spanish words he knew together into a children's song. Highlights: fall

Brilliant and original. Need to revisit.

This record didn't grab me in anyway. Might as well have been musak, for all I know it is... One

Pleasant

gar nicht schlecht

*Rejoicing...* is dull folk rock that's been done dozens of times before, and better. If Banhart at least had an interesting voice or exceptional guitar skills this album might have had a chance but that isn't the case here.

This makes me feel like a mouse or perhaps a vole.

A little boring

Wow is this man's voice so annoying, one song in I thought I could be into it but 4 songs in and I want to drop him down a well

1.5

I fw the lyrics on this album. It's simple but evocative, in a word very folksy v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-iva las vegas!

I LOVE dudes with weird voices typically. This however was the exception that proved the rule.

This is amazing. Everything about it is unique. His voice reminds me of James Blunt and also Tim Buckley at times. Will definitely be returning. Also, a well timed album for fall Edit: It’s five stars for me now!

I had a hard time getting past that this guy sounded exactly like Alt-J but wasn't Alt-J, but Devendra came out first so I have to give him credit for the sound. I liked it at first, it was unique and funky, a new spin on an old pschadelic sound. I don't love psychadelic rock but i appreciated turning it into a fresh millenial sound. But after a while the voice just became all I heard and I don't know if it really added anything or just tried to take over.

This was really pretty. He has an avant-garde vibe, but it's in just the right dose for me. Weird enough to be interesting and intriguing, but not so weird that it loses me. It had a cozy comfort factor that drew me in too.

Fine bit hippy dippy

A lovely surprise! Folky and funky; dark but still light. Reminds me of Rhiannon Giddens. Really beautiful. This is a keeper! A 5, on the first listen.

It’s gonna be a no for me, dawg.

Number: 269 Familiarity: Moderate (3) Rating: 4 Before: ======= Hm, I have to admit I'm kind of surprised to see Devendra Banhart on this list. I'm a little familiar with him as I have exactly one song by him in my favorites by years lists, and that is from his 2016 album, Fig in Leather. During: ======= Two songs in now and I am liking what I'm hearing. Like I said, I'm a little familiar with his music and most likely skimmed through this album a few years ago when putting together my favorites by years lists. I apparently didn't find much from him then that I liked that much. However, I have been more interested in Folk/Americana/Alt Country in recent times and this kind falls in that realm... After : ======= Overall it's a decent album, not really 1001 list material though, imo. I did add one song to my 2004 list, "Fall", mainly as a reminder for the next time I evaluate that list, to come back and listen to this album. It seems like something that would get better with repeated listens...My overall rating comes to 3.55, so I guess I'll give it a 4.

Rejoicing In The Hands was an album that i'm not a huge fan of. Honestly, i thought that this album was going to be older than it actually is due to that album art but the production definitely gives the vibe of an album from 2004. That being said, my major issue with this album is Banhart's vocals. They just have that really annoying vibrato and are just not the clearest. The lyrics in some of the songs are kinda weird too. That is a shame though because musically, this album is very solid. It's minimalist while still doing enough to keep me interested. If it weren't for the vocals, i'm sure i would have liked this album but they are the main thing that's dragging it way down. Best Song: Autumn's Child Worst Song: See Saw

Devendra Banhart, unexpected. But cool! Have listened to his Mala album loads of times, which is a 4-5 star one. This, however, was a bit of a disappointment. But then again I've tried getting into other albums than Mala, but failed to, apart from some stellar songs here and there. So I guess it's not too unexpected. The album has Devendra's trademark vibrato and breaking voice. You also have some guitar tunes that take unexpected turns with unorthodox chords, which is common to him. Still, I felt like no song really grabbed hold of me. It's definitely beautiful, but I think I get a bit tired of hearing a whole album with just song and acoustic guitar. It lacks in the percussive department for sure.

Man, I would have loved this when I got into folk in the late 00s. It reminded me a lot of Bright Eyes, but with less teenage angst. There’s something about the lo-fi production that I really enjoy, and it reminded me why I fell in love with the genre in the first place. It felt nostalgic, even though I don’t think I’ve listened to this album before. It feels like it came fairly early in the 00s–10s folk revival. I enjoyed the simple guitar playing, which reminded me a bit of the arrangements on early Leonard Cohen records. The vocals work quite well, but the vibrato gets slightly annoying after a while. 3 stars.

a rainy morning in central japan proves wonderful ambience for this strange, shaggy record. Banhart is at times excruciating - his Jeff Buckley trills on the opening track, the hippie-machismo growl he puts on on See Saw - but so are we all, and like us all he can often be beguiling, scary, earnest. like fewer of us, he's an excellent guitarist, which is a nice way into his music if you find the voice a bit much. i got over it in a few tracks, and was comfortably within Banhart's shagadelic world, ears pricking particularly up for simpler tracks like Will Is My Friend and Todo Los Dolores. i am pretty far from in love with his whole thing, but was also surprised by how agreeable i found it all with a cup of coffee and the temperatures falling, a mood wherein i could feel a little closer to the record's insular world

A very good album. I’d heard of this band on KCRW but this was my first real listen

I quite liked this. Easy to listen to.

hipster w4nk music made for hipster w4nkers!

Awful

Was anyone else reminded of José Gonzalez, Bon Iver and Elliott Smith when listening to the first half of the album? It's good, but there are other acoustic folk albums you should listen to before Rejoicing In The Hands. Overall: 4/10

Dime a dozen album. If not for the democratisation of music production in the late 90s/ early 00s we probably don't get albums like this. Would we be worse off? The quivering vocal is painful. 2/5.

Too überhipster. He’d get more traction if he didn’t ham it up.

2 - ok

"Psychedelic Folk". This is interesting and unique, but still not great. Not sure why this is on the list. Pitchfork: 8.5 Rolling Stone: n/a

One time through this album is more than enough. Perhaps a bit pretentious with odd vocal choices at times.

American folk with English gentleness, such as Cat Stevens an Damian Rice. I love the genree. Sometimes the album is just too gentle for me. 4./5

nice enough

I love this kind of music. Another review mentioned standout left out albums in the same genre, by Sufjan Stevens and Iron and Wine! I wish those albums were included but I enjoyed this as well.

2.56

Приємний акустичний фолк альбом. Не можу сказати, що сильно зачепили якісь окремі композиції.

В цілому люблю Девендру, був навіть колись на його концерті, але цей альбом якось не зайшов в настрій сьогодні.

Lyrics as a stream of consciousness about heritage, and good guitar Wish he'd done more than one piece in Spanish

Some of the more ethereal pieces are quite lovely, but then he puts the ol' timey Americana on (including various unlikely accents) and I'd like nothing better than rip my ears out.

First half is so good. Will is my friend!!

His voice is interesting, but wore on me after a few songs. His guitar playing is sometimes interesting, but is often simplistic and tedious. His songwriting is sometimes interesting, but often banal. The recording is murky (probably intentionally). I refuse to let this album ruin my day.

Jesus Christ

Mostly forgettable acoustic noodling. Some good moments and melody but nothing I will go back to

Nothing really that interesting, nothing really offensive, just kinda ok to listen to. Won't be going back for seconds. It's just really mediocre so I'm going to give it a 3.

This was actually alright. Better than a lot of the reviews would suggest. Bit quirky and not a whole lot of variation, but worth a listen.

im rejoicing aright

this artwork is really cool This was right up my alley, very folksy and guitar focused with a hint of strings here and there. I very much enjoyed it and I think I would like it even more with further listens. I also really liked the one with the female voice singing with him, i probably would’ve liked the whole album more if she sang it but his voice wasn’t too bad regardless. There were a couple tracks in the middle that had very repetitive parts that I didn’t really like and I think could be removed like this bead is for Siobhan which repeats ‘/ good time, a good time and real good time’ over and over which got annoying. but other than that really enjoyed this one 3.76/5

Nostalgisk. Det her var et meget cool album i 2004

Blast from the past! (Lyttede meget til den slags i gym, aldrig vildt meget Devendra Banhart men jeg har hørt den her plade et par gange før for 15-20 år siden...) Der er nogle virkelig lækre numre på, stor 3er

Sounded nice, but everything sounded the same.

It has potential, but I can’t get over the singing. Too much vibrato, to the point where it distracts from the songwriting (exhibit See Saw, probably the worst one on the album). But pretty guitar playing makes up for it a little. Rating: 3/10 Favorite Song: Autumn’s Child

folk af. yeah not bad

Rejoicing in the Hands just wasn’t for me. There were some interesting musical ideas throughout the album. But Devendra Banhart’s voice was the biggest obstacle. His vocal style didn’t really change much from song to song, and after a while it started wearing on me. Individually, several of these songs would work perfectly well as coffee-shop music, but over an entire album, I just wasn’t feeling it. A few moments crossed from quirky into annoying for me, although the short song lengths definitely helped. Ironically, the final song finally gave me what I’d been waiting for: piano and a noticeably different vocal approach. I wish there had been more of that variety throughout the album. I can appreciate what Banhart is doing here, but this one simply isn’t for me. I think “his voice was the biggest obstacle” gets much closer to what actually happened during your listen.

Solid guitar work and his voice reminds me of the vocalist from Alt-J. Just gets somewhat repetitive with every song being basically the same. Probably listen to the whole thing again. Favorites were Will Is My Friend and Todos los Dolores.

This is definitely a niche album but one that I love. The sound can be very offputting at first for many but I was pulled in immediately. My favorite song on the album is This is the Way a song of self acceptance and joy. This album is in the Freak Folk genre along with Joanna Newsom.

Happy to have been given the opportunity to check this album out. As acoustic guitar singer songwriting goes, its pretty good. If I listen again and think about other albums ive scored as a 4 I might decide to go higher

I listened to this whilst cleaning my flat in the evening. At first, it was pleasant enough to listen to some acoustic tracks while I cleaned, but in the end, I found this to be nothing short of massively mediocre. The cleaning process was tiresome, and the same can be said for the vocals here.

Really wasn’t feeling this one. Albums like these reminded me of the type of critics that put together this lists *ahem* Pitchfork writers *ahem*. I often like indie bullshit, but this was hollow and didn’t fully delve into its freakiness. Some of the songs were flat out boring or annoying.

Jesus, what an annoying album. Possibly the longest 42 minutes of my life, and I spent it being warbled at by someone who sounds one step away from the old people’s home.

Es un album super tranquilon. Siento que lo tendria para tener de fondo, pero nada q escucharia en el dia a dia. 6/10

I thought I was gonna not like it from the opening song but it’s cool.

I’d never listened to a whole album before, but I liked this one. Folksy-sounding stuff.

Not bad - a lil sad.

Quirky and simple. Can't tell if I hate or like his voice.

Curious. Alright, but not great.

total sucker for folk rock, I loved it.

This album almost got into my collection, I like how they played the guitar through the entire album, the folk part I also love it, the only thing that I didn't enjoyed and its the reason why I didn't included it into my collection is the Psychedelic aspect of the album. I understand that this is main theme of the album, but it's not my vibe. He did a fantastic job for this album but it's not everyone's type.

It was alright but very slow

made me wanna fall asleep. too soothing for my taste but did sound very pretty

aight

The bio says he's a visual artist, maybe you gotta see this to enjoy it. It also said psychedelic, and there was nothing close to that on this album. Couldn't do it.

Decent guitar but hate the vocals