Mala (Devendra Banhart album)
Mala | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 12, 2013 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:52 | |||
Warner Bros. | ||||
Producer | Devendra Banhart, Noah Georgeson | |||
Devendra Banhart chronology | ||||
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Mala is the eighth studio album by American folk rock musician Devendra Banhart, released on March 12, 2013 on Nonesuch Records.[5] The album was produced by Banhart and Noah Georgeson, and mastered by Greg Calbi.
Background
Mala was produced by Banhart and Noah Georgeson, and mastered by Greg Calbi. Banhart's band members Noah Georgeson, Greg Rogove, Josiah Steinbrick, and Rodrigo Amarante helped him on the record.
Music and lyrics
Fred Thomas of
However, Andy Gill of The Independent wrote that the album is "not bad, just unnecessary", and this is because "it shifts desultorily from style to style, with songs barely hanging around long enough to state their case."[2] On the other hand, Andrew Burgess of musicOMH is in disagreement with that sentiment because he told that in the realm of musicality "Mala has a cohesive sound accentuated by a powerful, thumping low end and washing (but not overpowering) analogue synths."[12] In addition, Burgess noted the album is quite "subdued", and carrying "laid-back tunes unlike anything Banhart has done before."[12] At Rolling Stone, Joe Gross noted that "Banhart seems to grab at anything that would get him out of the freak-folk box; Mala is smoother in its amalgamation, drifty melodies and his classic mumble recorded with gorgeously low-fi-sounding muffle."[13] The Guardian's Kate Mossman felt that Banhart "no longer sounds particularly freaky [...] it's perfectly normal to record on vintage hip-hop equipment".[14] Yet, Luke Grundy of The Line of Best Fit told that Mala is "another exercise in genre cross-pollination encompassing both broad musical brush-strokes and nuanced, vulnerable whisper-like tracks."[15] On the flipside, Paste magazine's Ryan Reed felt otherwise writing that "Mala is just as quiet as his Will Be—but unlike that album, this one never drags."[3] At Spin, Andy Beta told that "lyrically, he still shades toward the surreal".[16] Drowned in Sound's Aaron Lavery noted how Mala was made "with a definite DIY sensibility."[17] Zachary Houle of PopMatters felt that "Mala a bit of a puzzling release, one that might get listeners wondering what was going on in the artist's mind when he pulled this thing together", and said that "if there's one thing Mala doesn't do, is cohere."[11]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Q | [8] |
Rolling Stone | [13] |
Slant Magazine | [19] |
Under the Radar | [9] |
Pitchfork | (7.6/10)[20] |
Mala has received generally positive reception from music critics. At Metacritic, they assign a "weighted average" score to ratings and reviews from selected mainstream critics, and the Metascore is a 72, which is based on 29 critic reviews.[21] At AnyDecentMusic?, they have a rating of a 7.0-out-of-ten for the album, and this is based on 27 critic reviews.[22]
At
Fred Thomas of AllMusic felt that the release "doesn't quite return to the lo-fi brilliance of his beginnings or continue the overwrought leanings of his most previous work, but somehow finds a way to refreshingly split the difference."[5] Andrew Burgess of musicOMH called it a "grown-up album", which is a "satisfying, mystifying, well-imagined album", and found that the release "takes you by the hand and assures you that wherever we're going, you just might not ever want to go back home."[12] At Rolling Stone, Joe Gross noted that all the artist needed was "a little time off" to come up with a collection like this one.[13] Slant Magazine's Annie Galvin highlighted that "Mala attests to a discipline that was absent in Banhart's recent, loopier ventures, proving that his eccentric songwriting works best when harnessed in service of good storytelling."[19] At Spin, Andy Beta rated the album a 7-out-of-ten, and affirmed that the effort "is a more gratifying listen than the oft-grating Banhart had any right to deliver to non-believers in 2013. Tidy and concise, clocking in at 43 minutes, it favors the diminutive gesture to the cloying, hammy affectation that derailed so much of his prior discography."[16]
However, Max Mertens at Now told that this "isn't his most groundbreaking work, but he's earned the right to relax, and there are far worse albums you could spend a lazy Sunday afternoon with."[18] The Line of Best Fit's Luke Grundy found that "there are moments to savour, but for each of these there's at least one frustrating or disappointing moment to counteract it."[15] At NME, Emily Mackay rated the album a 6-out-of-ten, and called it "a nightmarish listen, but in a good way."[25] Aaron Lavery of Drowned in Sound rated the album a 6-out-of-ten, and wrote that "almost everything here is pretty good when you sit down and concentrate on it, but there little that jumps up and demands your attention."[17] At The Independent, Andy Gill was critical of "Devendra Banhart's last few albums [that] left little impression, and despite moving to Warners' artists colony Nonesuch, his latest seems unlikely to arrest that trajectory."[2] PopMatters' Zachary Houle rated the album a 5-out-of-ten, and told that "with equal amounts killer and filler doled out, Mala is a cake that comes across as half-baked, which is sorrowful knowing that Banhart really wanted to have that cake and eat it, too."[11]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Devendra Banhart except for "Won't You Come Over", which he co-wrote with Noah Georgeson
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Golden Girls" | 1:35 |
2. | "Daniel" | 3:05 |
3. | "Für Hildegard von Bingen" | 2:36 |
4. | "Never Seen Such Good Things" | 3:13 |
5. | "Mi Negrita" | 3:24 |
6. | "Your Fine Petting Duck" | 5:46 |
7. | "The Ballad of Keenan Milton" | 2:16 |
8. | "A Gain" | 1:35 |
9. | "Won't You Come Over" | 3:37 |
10. | "Cristobal Risquez" | 2:28 |
11. | "Hatchet Wound" | 3:10 |
12. | "Mala" | 1:08 |
13. | "Won't You Come Home" | 3:31 |
14. | "Taurobolium" | 3:16 |
Total length: | 40:52 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
15. | "Something French" | |
16. | "Loring Baker" |
Chart performance
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26] | 96 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[27] | 107 |
French Albums ( SNEP)[28]
|
77 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] | 82 |
UK Albums (OCC)[30] | 143 |
US Billboard 200[31] | 139 |
US | 25 |
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[33] | 7 |
US | 2 |
US | 36 |
US | 13 |
References
- ^ ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Gill, Andy (March 8, 2013). "Album review: Devendra Banhart, Mala (Nonesuch)". The Independent. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c Reed, Ryan (March 12, 2013). "Devendra Banhart Mala". Paste. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Hedderman, Zara (September 30, 2016). "Devendra Banhart – Ape in Pink Marble". State. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Thomas, Fred (March 11, 2013). "Mala - Devendra Banhart : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c Pfleegor, Dan (March 14, 2013). "Album Review: Devendra Banhart – Mala". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ ISSN 1351-0193. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ ISSN 0955-4955. Archived from the originalon August 10, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c Everhart, John (March 13, 2013). "Devendra Banhart: Mala (NONESUCH)". Under the Radar. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Gallucci, Michael (March 12, 2013). "Devendra Banhart: Mala". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c Houle, Zachary (March 11, 2013). "Devendra Banhart: Mala". PopMatters. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Burgess, Andrew (March 8, 2013). "Devendra Banhart - Mala". musicOMH. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c Gross, Joe (March 12, 2013). "Devendra Banhart, Mala". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c Mossman, Kate (March 14, 2013). "Devendra Banhart: Mala – review". The Guardian. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c Grundy, Luke (March 7, 2013). "Devendra Banhart – Mala". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Beta, Andy (March 13, 2013). "Devendra Banhart, 'Mala' (Nonesuch)". Spin. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Lavery, Aaron (March 6, 2013). "Devendra Banhart – Mala". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on March 9, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Mertens, Max (March 28, 2013). "Devendra Banhart - Mala". Now. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Galvin, Annie (March 10, 2013). "Devendra Banhart: Mala". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Cohen, Ian (March 13, 2013). "Devendra Banhart: Mala". Pitchfork.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ AnyDecentMusic? (March 12, 2013). "Mala by Devendra Banhart reviews". PalmerWatson. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ MacKinnel, Kyle (March 11, 2013). "Reviews - Devendra Banhart". FILTER. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Cohen, Ian (March 12, 2013). "Devendra Barnhart: Mala". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Mackay, Emily (March 8, 2013). "NME Album Reviews - Devendra Banhart - 'Mala'". NME. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Devendra Banhart – Mala" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Devendra Banhart – Mala" (in French). Hung Medien.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Devendra Banhart – Mala". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Devendra Banhart – Mala". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Devendra Banhart | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
- ^ "Devendra Banhart Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
- ^ "Devendra Banhart Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "Devendra Banhart Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "Devendra Banhart Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "Devendra Banhart Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "Devendra Banhart Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.