Devendra Banhart Details 'Mala'

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jan 8, 2013

In recent years, Devendra Banhart has cleaned up both his image and his sound, and the freak-folk songwriter is currently preparing to release his first album since 2009. He's now confirmed the details of the previously announced Mala, which is out on March 12 through Nonesuch.

Banhart co-produced the album with his guitarist, Noah Georgeson, in his then-home in Los Angeles (Banhart has since moved to New York). The two played almost all of the instruments themselves and used a vintage Tascam recorder.

"A lot of early hip-hop had been made on [the Tascam]," Banhart said in a statement. "And knowing my songs are not hip-hop whatsoever, we thought it would be interesting to see how these kinds of songs would sound on equipment that was used to record our favourite rap. Let's see how this technology would work for us."

That's the album cover above and the 14-song tracklist below. The track "Für Hildegard von Bingen" is streaming over at Pitchfork.

Pre-order Mala on CD or vinyl here. LP copies are pressed on 140-gram wax and come with a CD, a poster and a bonus 7-inch with two extra tracks, plus an instant download of "Für Hildegard von Bingen" and a digital copy of the album on release day.

Expect a spring tour to be announced soon.

Mala:

1. Golden Girls
2. Daniel
3. Für Hildegard von Bingen
4. Never Seen Such Good Things
5. Mi Negrita
6. Your Fine Petting Duck
7. The Ballad of Keenan Milton
8. A Gain
9. Won't You Come Over
10. Cristobal Risquez
11. Hatchet Wound
12. Mala
13. Won't You Come Home
14. Taurobolium
15. Something French (LP-only bonus track)
16. Loring Baker (LP-only bonus track)

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