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Rejoicing in the Hands

 
Album Review: Rejoicing in the Hands
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Rejoicing in the Hands

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  • Artist: Devendra Banhart
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: April 26, 2004
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

When Michael Gira's Young God label issued Devendra Banhart's glorious home-recorded debut, Oh Me Oh My, on an unsuspecting world, its gorgeous yet sparse primitivism, complete outsider lyric sensibilities, and infectious melodies grabbed hold of listeners all over the world. It offered them a bona fide fissure between popular and underground American culture. Banhart's aesthetic is no pose; his iconoclastic songwriting could not be farther away from officially sanctioned "alternative" music. However, given the unanticipated coverage and success of the album (by modest indie standards, folks, not those dictated by the biz), a quandary was presented in how to follow it up. Should his new songs -- and there were many -- be recorded in exactly the same way to preserve the notion of "authenticity?" Or should he not be penalized by having to adhere to the same economic realities, and be nurtured as the developing artist he is? Wisely, Gira and Banhart saw through the smokescreen what a word like "authentic" implies. Banhart's songs are the authentic outsider article even if he were to record them in Barry White's studio, so why punish for the sake of a media construct? Gira and Banhart chose a simple but very effective recording studio in engineer Lynn Bridges' house on the Georgia/Alabama border as their location, getting down 57 songs(!) and choosing 32 for two different albums from the treasure trove. Rejoicing in the Hands is the first of these albums -- another will be issued in the fall of 2004. Simply stated, it is a stunner, form start to finish. Banhart's Muse may be furiously active, but she is tender all the same. The sonic ambience on this disc is breathtaking. Gira and Banhart brought the master tapes back to Brooklyn for some minimal and tasteful overdubbing -- a guitar track here, a cello or trumpet there, a piano ghosting through the mix in another place, some spare drumming, hand percussion or vibes somewhere else. Over it all, though, is Banhart's reedy tenor and edgy, angular guitar playing with its hypnotic insistence carrying the tunes from deep in the interior of his image and sound world to the fore, where listeners can encounter and engage with them. Elements of blues, ragtime, Appalachian rural styles, country music, European and Celtic folk songs: all weave in and out of one another in a seamless yet crackling whole, each of them serving their role in articulating Banhart's sublimely prismatic, loopy vision. Singling out tracks or quoting from his words would amount to nothing more than sacrilege. This music is simply rendered, to be sure, but unspeakably profound and mercurial; it's funny, warm, heartbreaking, and evocative of another place and time. There are glimpses here of Greil Marcus' "old weird America," the all-but-visible inner terrain that informed certain spiritual, social, and aesthetic elements in our culture. Banhart's music is utterly unselfconscious and poetic. Rejoicing in the Hands is a whole -- each song an inseparable part of an offering for listeners to be, quite literally, enchanted and even awed by. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
This Is the Way (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (2:53)
A Sight to Behold Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (2:26)
The Body Breaks Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (2:43)
Poughkeepsie (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (2:17)
Dogs They Make Up the Dark (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (1:20)
Will Is My Friend (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (3:04)
This Beard Is for Siobhán Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (2:36)
See Saw (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (3:22)
Tit Smoking in the Temple of Artesan Mimicry Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (1:25)
Rejoicing in the Hands (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (1:41)
Fall (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (2:53)
Todo los Dolores (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (2:30)
When the Sun Shone on Vetiver (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (3:34)
There Was Sun (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (1:31)
Insect Eyes (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (5:08)
Autumn's Child (Lyrics) Devendra Banhart Devendra Banhart (2:40)

Credits

Steve Moses (Percussion), Thor Harris (Vibraphone), Doug Henderson (Mastering), Devendra Banhart (Piano), Michael Gira (Producer), Devendra Banhart (Guitar (Electric)), Georgia Bridges (Engineer), Jason LaFarge (Engineer), Joe McGinty (Organ), Devendra Banhart (Drawing), Thor Harris (Percussion), Paul Cantelon (Violin), Joe McGinty (Piano), Doug Henderson (Mixing), Devendra Banhart (Producer), Devendra Banhart (Vocals), Devendra Banhart (Bass), Lynn Bridges (Engineer), Julia Kent (Cello), Devendra Banhart (Guitar), Vashti Bunyan (Vocals), Steve Moses (Drums)
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Wikipedia: Rejoicing in the Hands
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Rejoicing in the Hands
Studio album by Devendra Banhart
Released April 24, 2004 (2004-04-24)
Recorded 2003
Genre Folk rock, Acoustic, Freak folk
Length 42:03
Label Young God
Producer Devendra Banhart
Michael Gira
Professional reviews
Devendra Banhart chronology
The Black Babies
(2003)		 Rejoicing in the Hands
(2004)		 Niño Rojo
(2004)

Rejoicing in the Hands (full title Rejoicing in the Hands of the Golden Empress) is the third studio album from psych folk musician Devendra Banhart and the second full release for the label Young God. It was recorded during 2003 and was released on April 24, 2004.

The song "Insect Eyes" was featured in the teaser trailer for the 2007 horror film The Hills Have Eyes 2. [1] The song "The Body Breaks" was used in the 2007 film Eagle vs. Shark.

Contents

Reception

The album garnered critical acclaim upon release.[2] and is considered by many to be Banhart's best work[3] The music review online magazine Pitchfork placed Rejoicing in the Hands at number 193 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[4]

Track listing

  1. "This Is the Way" – 2:53
  2. "A Sight to Behold" – 2:26
  3. "The Body Breaks" – 2:43
  4. "Poughkeepsie" – 2:17
  5. "Dogs They Make Up the Dark" – 1:20
  6. "Will Is My Friend" – 3:04
  7. "This Beard Is for Siobhan" – 2:36
  8. "See Saw" – 3:22
  9. "Tit Smoking in the Temple of Artesan Mimicry" – 1:25
  10. "Rejoicing in the Hands" – 1:41
  11. "Fall" – 2:53
  12. "Todo Los Dolores" – 2:30
  13. "When the Sun Shone on Vetiver" – 3:34
  14. "There Was Sun" – 1:31
  15. "Insect Eyes" – 5:08
  16. "Autumn's Child" – 2:40

Personnel

  • Devendra Banhart - bass, guitar (acoustic, electric), piano, vocals, producer, drawing
  • Vashti Bunyan - vocals
  • Paul Cantelon - violin
  • Thor Harris - percussion, vibraphone
  • Julia Kent - cello
  • Joe McGinty - organ, piano
  • Steve Moses - percussion, drums
  • Michael Gira - producer
  • Jason LaFarge - engineer
  • Doug Henderson - mastering, mixing
  • Georgia Bridges - engineer
  • Lynn Bridges - engineer

References

  1. ^ IGN: The Hills Have Eyes 2 Trailer
  2. ^ "Rejoicing in the Hands". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/banhartdevendra/rejoicinginthehands. 
  3. ^ "Search for Devendra Banhart". Metacritic. http://apps.metacritic.com/search/process?ty=2&ts=Devendra+Banhart&tfs=album_names&sb=5&x=45&y=10&release_date_s=&release_date_e=&metascore_s=&metascore_e=. Retrieved 2008-10-28. 
  4. ^ Pitchfork staff (September 28, 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200-151". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7706-the-top-200-albums-of-the-2000s-200-151/. Retrieved October 1, 2009. 
v • d • e
Devendra Banhart
Studio albums
Other discography
Associated acts
Megapuss · Vetiver

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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