Album Review: Devendra Banhart - Ape In Pink Marble

The problem with making your definitive album is how to follow it up?

Devendra Banhart threw everything into 2005's Cripple Crow; a 22-song saga with big production that spawned most of his best-known work. First, Banhart tried to go one better on the meandering Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon but its gratuitous orchestral arrangements tanked. Next came a full 180 reversal. What Will We Be featured down-to-earth but not memorable songs. It wasn't until four years later that Banhart rekindled fading public interest with 2013's Mala.

Overall, Ape In Pink Marble is Banhart's most relaxed opus to date. The delicately sung opener, Middle Names, has been chosen as the lead promotional track, but as pleasantly hazy as it is, it's hard to see it dominating the airwaves. But like his ink drawings, which have appeared in various galleries across the world, much of Ape In Pink Marble seems like it was thrown together quite spontaneously, revealing Banhart's idiosyncrasies and quirky charms. Modern technology seems to have slowly crept up on Banhart, as the subtle electronic details that began with Mala continue here, as background noises blur the overall sound of Mourner's Dance and Saturday Night in ways that might appeal to anyone who's made friends with the new Frank Ocean record.

An artist who never stays in one space for long, it will be interesting to see whether Banhart journeys further into this quietly unassuming, dreamy sound or bamboozle us all with another u-turn.