Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow (2005)

I was introduced to Devendra Banhart by a friend of mine in the university. We had these evenings with a couple of friends where we would each bring an album we liked and thought the others might not have listened to before. One of the albums in one of these evenings was Cripple Crow. I was instantly captivated by the album cover. It just looked like an album I would be interested in. I also remember liking the album right from the first time I heard it. However, for some reason, I didn't really feel very strongly about the songs when I had bought the album. After the initial excitement of the sounds, many of the songs seemed a bit bland to me for many years. Now that I'm listening to the album after many years' break, again this sounds like an excellent album. Perhaps I've grown to enjoy more different styles in the recent years and I can appreciate even the latin stylings that I wasn't that much of a fan of back in the day.



The album cover looks a bit like the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and I think the reference is quite good, since this album too is a nice exploration of different styles and sounds. Already the main "genre" of this album can be called alternative latin folk psychedelia or something like that. Banhart's trembling vocals may be slightly challenging to people who are accustomed to more conventional vocal styles, but I think it's highly appropriate for these songs. The songs have hypnotising mystique about them. There are lots of latin American influences and Indian influences in the sounds that makes the album sound quite unique. At the same time, especially the Indian influences remind me of late 60's psychedelia craze, which also makes this album slightly retro.

The album starts with airy guitar picking in the song Now That I Know that reminds me of Nick Drake's quiet folk aesthetics. The dry violin sounds even further that image. This is followed by Santa Maria de Feira, which has subtle latin beats and Spanish vocals, but the primary sound is still strongly reminiscent of 70's folk scene. Heard Somebody Say starts with pianos that sound exactly like The Beatles. When the other instruments come in, this description doesn't become any less valid. I guess this song is the most typical alternative folk song for the 00's. Long Haired Child has some beautiful groovy bass lines and psychedelic sharp guitar solos. It shows that Devendra Banhart is capable of not just making intimate folk music, but he can also pull off a cool rock song. Lazy Butterfly is a shamanistic and melancholic folk song with some sitars. I'm sort of reminded of some shamanistic stylings of The Doors. Quedate Luna sounds like Mexicana indie music in the style of Calexico. I Feel Just Like a Child has a nice rolling groove and it's one of the few songs on the album that are suitable to dance to. Some People Ride the Wave is a cabaret style song that sounds like it would be made for singalongs in a tavern somewhere. Of course this album also has to have a song that explicitly recognises the clearest influence. Oddly enough, The Beatles, is mainly Spanish language latin song. The title-track Cripple Crow has some psychedelic flute and bongo sounds. Inaniel is a beautifully melancholic piece that sounds like an old traditional folk song. Chinese Children is one of the songs that I really liked when I had just found out about this album. The nice relaxed slacker groove is captivating. Little Boys is another longer song that has many different parts and allows Banhart to play a little.

I've never seen Devendra Banhart live, but I feel like he would be really entertaining. The music video for I Feel Just Like a Child confirms that this is the case. It's just a simple video of a stage performance, but the stage performance seems to be electrifying. The band looks like a bunch of hippies, but in a good way.

I'm sure Banhart's childhood has influenced his music a lot. He was born in Texas, but raised in Venezuela by his Venezuelan mother. As a teenager he moved to San Francisco where he started his musical career. His parents also followed an Indian religious leader that also resulted in his strange given name. All of these different influences are quite present in his music.

I feel like I have to really give another chance to Devendra Banhart's other albums as well, because now that I listen to this album after several years in between, this really sounds like a brilliant album.

Listen to the album on Spotify.