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Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
by
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon Image
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 33 Ratings

  • Summary: The latest album from the Texas-based artist includes guest appearances by Gael Garc?a Bernal, Nick Valensi of The Strokes, and Rodrigo Amarante of Los Hermanos.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 34
  3. Negative: 2 out of 34
  1. BBC collective
    90
    it's great to hear Banhart playing outside of type, and the swagger and muscle occasionally at work suit him surprisingly well.
  2. PopMatters
    80
    Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon is another very fine achievement in the still young, but immensely satisfying and always intriguing, career of Devendra Banhart.
  3. AllMusic
    80
    Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon is many things--perhaps too many things, but its successes outnumber its failures, and it essentially solves the problems inherent in confining a freeform singer to time signatures and arrangements and rhythms imposed by outsiders.
  4. Rolling Stone
    70
    There's nothing minimal about the music, which is cleanly produced, smartly textured hippie shamble.
  5. New Musical Express (NME)
    60
    The main problem with '...Thunder Canyon' though is it's long - 72 minutes long - which suggests when Banhart let his muse fly free, he forgot to keep a check on his ego, too. At its best, this is subtle, touching, beautiful. At its worst, it's meandering and smug. You're entertained, but unsettled.
  6. Q Magazine
    60
    Intriguing though Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon is, it remains unclear how he and his peculiar talent will thrive out there. [Oct 2007, p.104]
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  7. NOW Magazine
    20
    Rather than the thoughtful songcraft and inspired peformances of Banhart's pre-Roberts Young God recordings, what you hear now is the zoned-out noodling of someone who foolishly believes his own genius hype.

See all 34 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 3 out of 16
  1. LoucasP.
    Oct 13, 2007
    10
    Definitely one of the best albums of the year, "I remember"...
  2. Georgeb.
    Sep 29, 2007
    10
    it's an fantastic album...devendra is amazing, all of his albums are masterpieces.
  4. Gus
    Dec 12, 2007
    9
    Amazing.
  5. KennethC.
    Oct 14, 2007
    7
    Some surprises are gone. Some of the melody's seem to be lifted from other places. A couple tracks have cringe worthy lyrics. But for Some surprises are gone. Some of the melody's seem to be lifted from other places. A couple tracks have cringe worthy lyrics. But for the most part Devendra still makes me happy when I listen to him. And I believe that Is the main point of what he is actually trying to accomplish.… Expand
  6. KateM
    Apr 2, 2011
    6
    Feels a bit directionless and seems to be an experiment. The songs don't really fit as a whole- Lover is a fabulous song, but is completelyFeels a bit directionless and seems to be an experiment. The songs don't really fit as a whole- Lover is a fabulous song, but is completely out of place. Individually, all the songs are great, especially the salient Shabop Shalom and the playful Tonada Yanomanista, but as a collective, it's a bit jolty and uncertain.… Expand
  7. SweetL.
    Sep 28, 2007
    5
    Hmmm, what happened with this album?
  8. SpiderWebb
    Oct 2, 2007
    0
    More hippy-dippy verbiage from this stinky Marc Bolan plagiarist.

See all 16 User Reviews