Devendra Barnhart

ARTIST: AIR ALBUM: LOVE 2 NEW YORK (Billboard) - Few bands live up to their names as well as Air. The French electronic duo makes gravity-defying disco-pop that can be as foreboding as it is frothy (see the 2000 soundtrack to "The Virgin Suicides"). Air's fifth studio album, "Love 2," hinges on Joey Waronker, a percussionist who toured with the band on its last outing. His delicate playing helps bring all of those potentially spacey piano arpeggios back down to earth, resulting in a sound that resembles the lo-fi pop for which Air first became known, more than the cosmic symphony of recent efforts. ... Read Full Story

The National: White Session Start a War Brainy Slow Show Squalor Victoria Apartment Story Racing Like a Pro Ada You've Done It Again Virginia Mistaken for Strangers Fake Empire About Today BUY The National's music here . You can download The National's Boxer and Alligator (plus earlier albums) at eMusic with their free trial offer . * * * * * * * * Devendra Banhart: White Session Wake Up, Little Sparrow At The Hop Little Petit Spider (this appears on Nino Rojo as "Little Yellow Spider", perhaps he changed the name for the French listeners) We All Know Will Is My Friend A ... Read Full Story

One week from today, Devendra Banhart will release his seventh album (and first as a Warner Bro), What Will We Be . He’s taking a co-production credit, along with Band Of Bees’ Paul Butler, and reprising the crew that backed Banhart on 2007’s Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon : Noah Georgeson, Megapuss Greg Rogove on drums, bassist Luckey Remington and guitarist Rodrigo Amarante. We’ve brought you what we could so far — “Chin Chin Muck Muck” live in San Francisco , the choo-choo train breeze of lead single “ Baby ,” the 14-song set’s penultimate sleeper “ Walilamdzi ” — but today in conjunction ... Read Full Story

Invoking the cosmic wonder of his beard and Bollywood, Devendra Banhart's latest music video is both a love story and a tongue-in-cheek nod to India's maharajas of yore. In "Carmensita," the newest single from his latest album, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon , Devandra and his uber-hot (and unlikely girlfriend) Natalie Portman get down to psychedelic-indie, all while saving the Kindom of Carmensita from the clutches of Lord Rajan the Malevolent. When taunting the Prince (played by Devendra), Lord Rajan bellows, "You think you can defeat me with your rebellious beard?" Later on, Devendra kills Lord Rajan by shooting venomous snakes out of his ... Read Full Story

We’ve heard bits and pieces of Devendra Banhart’s 14-song major label debut, What Will We Be . First it was a couple of songs live in San Francisco. Then we got the studio take of “ Baby ” (though we’ve since been promised a new Wu-Tanged version ). Now we can dig a bit deeper into the collection via the sleepy penultimate track “Walillamdzi.” What you’re about to see is not an official video. It’s footage of Banhart and band recording What in Northern California that’s been set to the song. So, yeah, you can close your eyes if you want, and chill. Continue ... Read Full Story