Devendra Banhart - Mala

Mala, Devendra Banhart
Nonesuch Records, USA
Rating: 79
by Carlos Reyes

The white savior complex is far from being a popular topic of discussion on Latin music forums, but when hipsters get together, it seems like no one is indifferent to the subject. “I am Venezuelan. Do I represent Venezuelans? I don’t know…I can barely represent myself.” Although Devendra Banhart carries Venezuelan blood and lived his formative years in that country, the general perception (at least from those in Latin America) is that he is still an outsider (some people are still resistant to the idea of Manu Chao being one of us, and others doubt of Ry Cooder's intentions). It’s a conformist, unfair, and anti-integrationist reading of an artist who clearly carries his identity on his sleeve.

Banhart isn’t being accused of a complete cultural appropriation, but is indicted for contributing to the exoticism of cultures (the fact that he also happens to symbolize Los Angeles’ boiling-pot society adds to the fire). When you hear the name Carmensita, does the image of Natalie Portman playing a Bollywood princess come to mind? While the allegations make up for a rich cultural debate, it’s easy to dismiss such opinions by simply listening to his records. Banhart is far from a gimmick. Mala, his eighth studio album is so thematically deep and sonically enduring to distill any skepticism. Sounding ambrosial in barebone acoustics (“Daniel”) or plainly twee in strummed melodies (“Your Fine Petting Duck”), Mala feels like the work of an experienced artist who has acquired cosmopolitanism through the arts.

By now we’ve come to expect Banhart singing in Spanish at least on one track of his albums. And they usually turn eventful. Such is the case here with the lovely “Mi Negrita.” It’s an unconscious habit, but Banhart always puts on his crooner voice whenever he sings in Spanish. It’s not a pose, it’s a loving way to show respect to his identity, an identity he can grasp and contribute to through either bolero or Americana. The song is also a great companion to Banhart’s recent collaborations with Natalia Lafourcade and Adanowsky. You can’t say the man isn’t trying to get more involved with our soundscape. Mala might not be Banhart’s strongest hour, but it’s easily his most respected work yet. He’s no longer filling the freak folk quota at your local artwalk or the young man putting a magnifying lense to his roots. When Banhart sings “you’re a young man on a dancefloor,” it all becomes clear—Mala is disambiguated and beyond earnest.

Video: Xenia Rubinos - "Whirlwind"

Following the re-release of her debut album Magic Trix via Ba Da Bing Records, which features  bonus track "Lost Things," vocal contortionist and quirky keyboardist Xenia Rubinos comes bearing a new single. Shot in an empty Long Island parking lot at 6 a.m., the video for "Whirlwind" captures Rubinos’ playful energy and propensity to favor vocal prowess to composition. With director Francesco Lettieri brilliant stop frame-like video, the sonic juxtaposition of drummer Marco Buccelli’s odd and complex dance beats and Xenia’s powerful, high-pitched, and unpredictable vocal flights, synth noises, and squeaking hinges, the content suddenly becomes as fascinating as the container. The performance art (all in loops and layers) has us both hypnotized from the repetitive oohs and ahs and bouncing to the infectious raucous groove. 

Pardo - "Fantasma"

Melodrama, this familiar object, has been manipulated as if its contours were obvious, yet it continues to be ill defined. While critics in Latin America have often stated spurious value judgments of the cinematic genre and its literary counterpart—portrayed as cheap, commercial and lapsing into simplicity or complacency to develop a heightened emotional tension and create a grand spectacle—it’s astonishing to see a young and talented composer availing himself of the melodramatic popular song culture in México.

At age 22, the prolific and self-taught Sergio Castelló Fernández has already released under the name Pardo two solo albums made of intricate melancholic piano pieces he had been keeping to himself for sometime. (I should also mention he’s been part of two screamo bands and has been working, with his brother Arturo “Turi” on another musical project called Castelló). Through “Fantasma,” released last January by the Mexican Netlabel MYRDAL, Pardo finally reveals that melodrama must be thought of in terms of inheritance and adaptation. With his smooth and silky voice that echoes Juan Gabriel’s and drifting electronics, the regiomontano skillfully draws a particular aesthetic universe, filled with emotion and extremely evocative melancholy images. Singing "¿Quién iba a decir que yo jamás habría de perdonarme?" the tormented multi-instrumentalist cautiously lays out a story of wretched love. The result is beautifully painful. Pardo’s rich and dense work hovering between shaded sky and storms can all be found on his SoundCloud page.

Video: Lainus - "Montañitas"

Confounding yet rewarding. That seems to be the prevalent response from our staff while dissecting Lainus’ latest single, “Montañitas.” As part of a series of EPs to be released by Enemika Records this year, “Montañitas” is as abrupt and synth-swarmed in its construction as “Baile Contemporaneo” was. Chilean dreamwaver Alfredo Ibarra walks miles apart from the effortless pop of his Chilean peers. Not digestable enough to export, and not experimental enough for cult consideration, this is a project easy to overlook. But Lainus isn’t sitting comfortably in limbo, and instead employs his premise of “misty vocals and vintage analogue synthesizers” in other platforms, where the conception of an Andean electropop landscape might be easier to grasp. And it is. The video for “Montañitas” (directed by Enrique Ramirez) serves as a comforting companion to the song’s oblique harmonies. Animation, double exposure, and an overall maximalist art direction are used in the video. That’s the same widespread dynamic operated by Lainus in his quest of stuffing the space with sound. The journey is challenging, but when Lainus pushes for that last gasp towards the end, harmony is reached at last. Grab the EP here.