Rejoicing In The Hands - Devendra Banhart
Rejoicing In The Hands Image
Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 21 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 21 Ratings

  • Summary: The second LP from the New York-based artist/musician/crazy hippie Devendra Banhart (who studied at the San Francisco Art Institute) includes 16 of the 32 lo-fi tracks recorded in the living room of veteran recording engineer Lynn Bridges. The remaining 16 will be released on a separate album later in 2004. Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Anyone who can sit down in such a short period of time and write this many unique songs has to have something abnormally genius working inside.
  2. Banhart is a complete antidote to all the consumer focus groups or hit-writers, too scared to tamper with the formula. He has stumbled upon a personal Eureka that says there're no laws governing what can be written about in song except self-imposed ones and he's taken that to his heart, and in Technicolor.
  3. 90
    A nearly flawless set of left-field folk. [Jun 2004, p.106]
  4. A work of art, slightly rough around the edges and a little makeshift, but tremendously beautiful all the same.

See all 21 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Can't fault this album, its not everybodys thing, but it wasn't mine till I listened to it again. I think one of the main reasons Devendra is so awesome is because he has such an imagination that is reflected in his music and lyrics. I always think a complete album always sounds fresh and this is like diving into newly settled snow every time. Collapse
  2. Not my personal favourite, but definitely Devendra's best so far. Solid, haunting, jolly, illusive (if not trippy) folk in the purest of its form.
  3. KurtF
    10
    I get a lot of shit from friends for digging Devendra's stuff. "He looks like Jesus," they'd say, or "why are you listening to this sad bastard crap." But the point is Devendra is good, and you don't have to like his stuff to notice this. This is a 'solid' album, and I don't throw 'solid' around lightly. Although his finger picking riffs and chords are often very repeditive it's exactly what you want to hear. Expand
  4. BenW
    5
    I'm obviously missing something, as I found this all just a bit to twee. Banhart's playing is certainly impressive, but I didn';t feel the songs were that interesting and his Marc Bolan impersonation started to grate. When he uses a band things improve dramtically - perhaps this could be a future direction for him. Expand

See all 9 User Reviews