I work at this really cool toy store in Austin, TX called Terra Toys. No, I'm not trying to get a bunch of customers, this is just exposition. Anyways, Terra Toys is located on South Congress Ave., a street filled to the brim with stores containing all kinds of vintage clothes and furniture. Today, I was walking down to the coffee shop to get some tea, and as I was looking into the windows of the shops that I passed, something caught my eye. Inside of this old furniture store called Off The Wall, was this old, busted ass military trunk. I went inside to further inspect this trunk. I waltzed into the store and made my way over to the supposedly "cool" trunk. Sure enough, it kicked ass. It was army green with leather handles and it had scratches and dings all over it. One thing I always make sure I do before I buy something, be it a watermelon or a car, is flick it with my index finger. So, being true to myself, I flicked the trunk. A resounding thump shook the entire store. I knew right then that I must own this trunk.
Later that day after work I took my newfound trunk home. I had no idea what I was going to do with it; I just knew that I liked it. I took it inside my apartment and put it against the wall in my room and admired it for a while. There it was, this busted ass piece of shit that I just shelled out fifty bucks for, sitting in the corner of my room. The reason I loved this piece of junk so much wasn't because I needed it for some reason, but because it had character. Each and every little scratch and ding on it, probably had a story that some old guy would love to tell me about. This strange reasoning is the same force that makes me admire Devendra Banhart's music. Ha! You probably didn't think that long winded story was going anywhere did ya? Well, I sure showed you. Bow down to the master of segue ways.
Devendra Banhart may come across to some as being some kind of a lo-fi eccentric, but he isn't. Banhart would just like to play you some of his hard-to-categorize indie-blues-folk music on his acoustic guitar, and nothing more. On Rejoicing in the Hands, Banhart's second full length for Young God Records, Banhart's music is given a little bit better treatment. Recorded in an old household through all kinds of old, vintage era, this album still brings Banhart's music to the listener in a package that hasn't been polished to death in the studio. The scratches and dings are left onRejoicing in the Hands.
Banhart uses his strange voice and finger pickings to tell a different story on each track. His music has a bit of a timeless quality to it, recalling the early days of Bob Dylan. Nothing on this album is forced or hurried. Everything seems to take its time and just flow from Banhart like vomit coming out of Courtney Love. Some songs have Banhart's guitar and voice accompanied by various other instruments such as pianos and violins.
As folk music makes its way back into the limelight, the music industry will find itself inundated with musicians armed only with an acoustic guitar, a 4-track, and a big ego. Most of these men with guitars will suck, as evidenced by the recent onslaught of crappy folk music we've seen, but every once in a while, a true genius will step through, smoke a cigarette, and then sit down and drink some tea for a bit. This time it was Devendra Banhart.
