What Will We Be
by Devendra Banhart
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 25
  3. Negative: 1 out of 25
  1. Drowned In Sound
    40
    There’s some interest to be found but for the most part he displays a real lack of daring.
  2. Pitchfork
    40
    More focused on offering Banhart's international and oddball bona fides than crafting songs that feel at all like home, What Will We Be finds Banhart in need of direction and editing.
  3. musicOMH.com
    50
    One can't escape the feeling that, for a writer and performer of Banhart's undoubted talents, this album sees him rather treading water, and failing to match the originality of his persona with correspondingly original or engaging material.
  5. Slant Magazine
    50
    Through supplementation and wider instrumentation, he's traded in quiet haunting oddness for drowsy tranquil oddness, an exchange that may at some time pay better dividends than it does here.
  6. Under The Radar
    50
    It's easy to lay the rap on Banhart's drifting towards the middle of the road with the fuller, whole-band sound he's embraced, or the bigger labels or the greater notoriety, but the fault clearly lies with Banhart himself, who has become a lot easier to understand. [Fall 2009, p.56]
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  7. Mojo
    60
    For every throughly relised composition, there is a meandering fragment, great only as far as it goes. [Nov 2009, p.90]
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  8. Uncut
    60
    What Will We Be stands as a fittingly ambiguous, partly frustrating and altogether fascinating response to that question. Call it artful artlessness, or vice versa.
  9. Alternative Press
    60
    Tellingly, 'Angelika' and 'Maria Leonza' only get comfortably loose and silly when halfway finished. With a Strokes-y guitar part and a driving backbeat, the innovative '16th & Valencia, Roxy Music' is hopefully what Banhart will be in the future. [Dec 2009, p.108]
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  10. Dusted Magazine
    50
    Aside from the average genre stabs, What Will We Be is a surprisingly sullen and ponderous album. Absent is Banhart’s mania, the zaniness that he always seemed barely able to contain.
  11. PopMatters
    60
    It’s not surprising that What Will We Be sounds, then, like a relaxed, slightly crisper take on the ideas that informed his previous release. This haze of lazy Tropicalia, occasionally interrupted by an indulged moment of proggy vamp, isn’t necessarily a compromise.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15
  1. KateM
    Apr 2, 2011
    10
    This is an album that cannot be skimmed through. Listening to each individual is a treat to the ears- they start off slow and soft, butThis is an album that cannot be skimmed through. Listening to each individual is a treat to the ears- they start off slow and soft, but there's always a twist towards the middle and end, such as Chin Chin Muck Muck. First Song for B is the best example of this. The end is absolutely beautiful and heart felt. WWWB is a fantastic album- it is still very Banhart, though the development expected from artists who have created several albums is clear.… Full Review »
  2. frankrog29
    Jan 19, 2021
    9
    Based on the critics’ score (69), What Will We Be is severely underrated. Devendra Banhart’s style changed significantly after his 2005 albumBased on the critics’ score (69), What Will We Be is severely underrated. Devendra Banhart’s style changed significantly after his 2005 album Cripple Crow, and even more after his 2007 album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. He became less aligned with “freak folk” and more aligned with a singer-songwriter vibe, which is basically what he has continued with to this day. This album seems to be about not knowing where you’re going in life, but that being OK because life is a journey. I just made this album sound really corny, but don’t let that dissuade you. The songs on this album are some of Mr. Banhart’s most warm, comforting, and beautiful. This is Mr. Banhart’s loosest, funkiest album to date as of January 2021. There are also moments of straight-up jamming, not unlike some live Grateful Dead. Overall, this collection of songs is very heady and intoxicating. I highly recommend What Will We Be to anyone who likes spontaneous, iconoclastic singer-songwriter music with a loose, hippied-out vibe.… Full Review »
  3. MusicxxAddicted
    Apr 14, 2013
    9
    My favourite album by Devendra Banhart, filled with lush sounds and influences. It's perhaps not as fluid, with some songs "jumping" toMy favourite album by Devendra Banhart, filled with lush sounds and influences. It's perhaps not as fluid, with some songs "jumping" to another but it certainly doesn't get you off your cloud. For some people it might be considered a grower, I had the luck to fall instantly in love with it.… Full Review »
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