After enjoying heaps of critical praise for his previous releases, Banhart issues a tremendous challenge in Cripple Crow.  This is by way of actually becoming more accessible and “listener-friendly”, and demonstrating that his artistic integrity can remain intact.  Hey, can there be any merit to this?  I mean, after all, isn’t this just a 70’s folk-rock throwback?  Actually, if there was an aspiration to “sell out”, wouldn’t Banhart have chosen a style more in tune with the mp3 generation?

Of course, we know that Banhart won his fan base by going against indie-rock’s currently well-worn grain. Whether taking a political stance to shoving out some hippie-inspired nonsense, Banhart’s the “real deal” that comes by his eclecticism honestly.  A lot of attention is paid to his passionate-yet-delicate voice, and that has to take a lot of the credit for his ability to draw listeners in.

The cast-of-thousands cover photo suggests that Cripple Crow is likely an extremely “busy” orchestrated effort, but in reality we mostly have a collection of loose arrangements that range from the haunting “Inaniel” to the breezy singalong of “Chinese Children”, and even appropriates Dylan’s early rhyming style in “I Feel Just Like A Child”. There is, indeed, a communal vibe to much of Cripple Crow, but not to the point of having musicians sound like they’re in competition with each other.  Thank goodness.

Banhart sings in Spanish on a number of tracks here, with the most notable being the hypnotic “Santa Maria Da Feira” – a highlight here that shows just how sensitive the production effort is to Banhart’s strengths. Adding to the scope of Cripple Crow, Banhart brings a similar quality to protest song “Heard Somebody Say” – a somewhat “quiet” protest but as effective as any scream-and-shout you’d care to name.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention “Little Boys” as well, with its dramatic shift into slow-dance doo wop halfway through the song.  Clearly, anything goes.

Devendra Banhart keeps things interesting, and pretty darn exhilarating, throughout the 22 tracks that make up Cripple Crow.  Some may point to the CD’s length as a drawback, but Banhart’s clearly got a lot to say and finds ways to keep his listeners engaged.  This one will stay in the CD player for a while.