Oh nose! Devendra signed to a major?

Fear not. Ever fearless Devendra Banhart can never be cajoled by the suits at WB into forcing out strait-laced, mill-folk. Or can he?

Devendra definitely does feel more subdued on What Will We Be, his first release with Warner Bros. (Even the album title feels more normal than previous releases.) But before we dethrone the long-reigning king of freak-folk, let’s take a closer look at what’s going on here.

Last year’s Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon had its freaky moments, but was definitely headed in the direction we see more of on the new album. And realistically, Devendra has been heading this way since his freaky debut. He’s been moving up labels (some tiny indie to XL Records to Warner) and producing progressively more listener friendly tunes all along. And if we take this thing at face-value, there are some winners in here (See recommended tracks.)

Yeah, maybe Devendra’s really freaky days are over. Still, the guy is an enourmously talented musician, and these tunes carry the unique sound he’s perfected over the years (voice warbling, yips, etc.), albeit not in spades like the good ol’ days.

This is a good album.

Sometimes its just sad when your weird, hippie best friend buys a tie and gets a job. He’ll still chill with you on weekends, though. And that’s what we’ve got here.