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Reviewed for FasterLouder

One could almost take the title of Devendra Banhart’s latest album as a defeatist statement; the acknowledgment that he is still searching with his music and is himself unsure of where he is heading. Some parts of What Will We Be back that statement up, especially 4 of the last 5 songs which are Banhart on autopilot, uninspired like a vulture circling and desperately searching out the bones of a song.

With the biggest failing out of the way there is much to admire and absorb on this, his 6th official album. The freak folk tag has been hung around Banhart’s neck since he first emerged but over time he has stretched the parameters of his music and shrugged off the overly simplistic labeling. It just didn’t do justice to the diversity he fills his music with and in fact a first time listener would probably view What Will We Be as some slightly eccentric, wasted west coast, post-psych soul record. It ambles and strolls along, adding and removing different stylistic phrases along the way.

Angelika is Devendra as we know him with its sweet almost nursery rhyme melody and acoustic guitar fingerpicking. Mid song it takes a left turn into a Cuban jazz bar with swinging polyrhythmic percussion and it sums up Banhart’s magpie tendencies.

The first song to really hit the spot is Baby with its sparse instruments providing a soul soundtrack like a lost Motown track stranded on the Californian coastline. The bass in particular propels the verses into the the cascading chorus with falsetto vocals. Its a classic pop song in a long tradition of American soul music.

The one other moment of brilliance on What Will We Be is 16th & Valencia Roxy Music, a pulsing glam disco number with latin accents. The winning catch is that its done in a communal rather than alienating way. There are no cold electronics  just pure melody and a driving rhythm that makes it irresistibly catchy and along with Baby, the highlight of the album.

Two tracks bring the guitar melodies of Ryan Adams to mind. Goin’ Back lifts the riff wholesale from Cold Roses while Rats has contrasting sections that recall Adams and the particular breezy funk sound of Beck, probably as a result of their recent collaborations.

The last bunch of songs that let down what would otherwise be a great album. Often accused of distraction and indulgence., Banhart could have jettisoned those tracks and had a consistently strong 10 track album. Maria Lianza, Brindo, Meet Me At The Lookout Point and Walilamdzi all drift by without distinguishable moments of beauty or hooks to sink yours ears into. They’re not bad songs, just forgettable and add little to What Will We Be.

Banhart has showed he can stay rooted in the folk world but also draw South American, Mexican and Cuban influences into his trippy sound. The production on the album is gorgeous and notable with Daniel “Black Dub” Lanois mixing a selection of songs. Still chasing the twin pillars of romantic and party songs, Banhart has nailed it here on a handful of tracks but it unfortunately lacks the consistence needed to make an complete album that will stand up to repeated listens.