Devendra Banhart

On his debut disc, Devendra Banhart eschews the pretensions of modern music and recaptures the lost art of songwriting. Using only his idiosyncratic tenor, acoustic guitar, and twisted imagination, the 21-year-old singer/songwriter creates songs that are strangely beautiful without sounding the least bit contrived. This is probably due to the fact that the 22 tracks on Oh Me Oh My… are in fact a collection of private four-track recordings that were not originally intended for release. The overall result is an intimate journey into Devendra’s surreal universe, which is filled with "Legless Love,” "Nice People” and sentiments like, "The salt keeps the sea from feeling sweet/And my toes have my favourite feet.” His heartfelt finger-picked songs evoke the spirit of Nick Drake and his warbling tenor echoes Marc Bolan’s timbre, but ultimately Devendra’s musical style is all his own. Ranging from the absurd to the poignant, his songs are invariably pure and honest expressions of emotion. Listening to Oh Me Oh My… is like eavesdropping at Devendra’s bedroom door as he pours his soul through his guitar and onto tape.