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. Rolling Stone
    70
    The sixth studio album by Devendra Banhart is the best he's ever made. What Will We Be is also great enough in patchouli-scented spurts to suggest that the 28-year-old singer-songwriter's defining classic is one more record and a little more focus away.
  2. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    Butler’s done well to harness the fuller ideas first explored on "Smokey" but, in doing so, has sacrified raw Devendra for something just a bit too, well, Bees-y.
  3. AllMusic
    80
    Banhart's persona emerges intact despite the mainstream sound, however, and What Will We Be becomes a pleasantly fresh album to follow the ponderous, sprawling "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon."
  5. Spin
    70
    A big improvement over 2007's ho-hum "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon," it's also the most consistently satisfying full-length he's made.
  6. Los Angeles Times
    88
    He filches from a variety of genres--Brazilian Tropicalia, glam rock, lounge jazz, Zeppelin-like psychedelia--but it never sounds awkward. He loosens the stitches on each to fashion his own unique costume.
  7. The A.V. Club
    91
    On this, his major-label bow, the (now beardless!) prince of freak-folk has harnessed his many left-field tics and energies to craft his most elegantly driven work yet.
  8. Paste Magazine
    68
    What once made Banhart such a strange bird--roaming from jazz to folk to indie pop, often within a single song, as on the impossibly catchy 'Chin Chin & Muck Muck'--now seems almost mainstream, as if the rest of the pop world has not only caught up with him, but left him in its dust.
  9. Billboard.com
    75
    This time the quintet holed up for two months in a Northern California cabin, and the resulting collection from the idiosyncratic singer/songwriter is intimate, experimental, and ultimately accessible.
  10. Q Magazine
    80
    Mark this down as the point which we can say with certainty for the first time Devendra Banhart is here for the long run. [Nov 2009, p.113]
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  11. NOW Magazine
    80
    Some will be sad to find that his pulsating vocals and wacky storytelling have subsided, and that his vague lyrics have grown simpler. But anyone who’s avoided Banhart’s hippy-busker tunes now have a reason to give him a chance.
  12. Filter
    84
    A basement-made bundle of hypnotic unpredictability, this one looks to be a grower.
  13. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    Maybe he's listening a little too closely to his spirit animal, but either way, the guy sure sounds inspired. [30 Oct 2009, p.58]
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  14. Prefix Magazine
    75
    Banhart clearly gets bogged down in that freedom, as the amount of sheer hokiness on some of his albums can attest to. But with What Will We Be, Banhart gets back to earning that right for total creative freedom.
  15. The Boston Phoenix
    75
    Even when Banhart seems more in a predicament than in the zone, he’s hopelessly inventive. Several songs experience complete transformations over their modest three-minute spans, succeeding like little daybreaks.

User Reviews

All reviews »
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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