Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, by Devendra Banhart (LP on XL)

	Description:	LP on XL DUE TBC
	Format:	LP
	Label:	XL
	Price:	£10.79
	Availability:	sorry, but this item is not available / sold out. (Other items may be available!)

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What we say

Rating: happy This record left our Phil feeling happy.

I used to quite like Devendra Banhart but he wound me up after a while. The whole Jesus thing you know...... I wanted to smash his bearded goon face in. Well not really.... he's probably a nice guy and I'm a total pacifist. His warbling voice takes a bit of getting used to but once you've got used to lamb bleeting there is some joy to be had in his music. His new album has a bit of a Brazilian/ Spanish feel to it with the percussion and guitar. It sounds a bit lighter in tone and on certain tracks it's almost crooner ish. It's distinctly un annoying which surprised me cos I was well ready to slaughter this with my vicious typey fingers. I have to say I actually quite like it.... Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon is available as a limited CD with 60 (I think) page booklet or on vinyl at some point in the future. Remember record labels love you and that's why they want you buy lots of formats. They all truly love you.

What the label says:

Devendra Banhart has emerged as one of the most fascinating, unpredictable and inspiring artists of his generation. For the writing and recording of ‘Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon’ Banhart set up housekeeping in a rustic hillside home in the longstanding bohemian enclave of Topanga, North of Los Angeles. Noah, Devendra and engineer Beauraymond Fletcher created their recording studio in a second floor recreation room with a panoramic view of the canyon. Basic tracks were laid down using a core lineup of Banhart (guitar, piano, Cuatro, psaltery), Georgeson (zither, guitar, backing vocals, Hammond B-3, bass, et al), Luckey Remington (bass, guitar, background singing, water drum and freedom chime), Greg Rogove (drums, tablas, supporting vocals, geese and duck calls, pots and pans, mop stomp), and Pete Newsom (piano, keyboards, backing vox). The other musical contributors being Rodrigo Amarante (from Brasil’s Los Hermanos on guitar and harmony vocals), Andy Cabic (guitar, vocal support) and Otto Hauser (drums).Where Devendra’s previous album ‘Cripple Crow’ sounded like Devendra trading licks with a never ending caravan of passing musical gypsies, ‘Smokey…’ is very much the work of a band. The vocal arrangements are noticeably more intricate and ambitious with lush harmonies running through many of these numbers. The instrumental performances are comfortably loose but in-the-pocket - a rich blend of acoustic and electric guitars, understated drumming and gentle percussion, diffident bass and a variety of downhome keyboards, subtly colored with the occasional lightest touch of strings or woodwinds.Available on special edition limited CD with deluxe 60 page perfect bound book, standard CD and vinyl.