Devendra Banhart: Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

Label: Beggars

Devendra Banhart, the eccentrics’ Massiah, is known for writing imaginative folk that sounds like it’s been twisted through a crank toy and recorded on answering machine tapes. But on Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, Banhart drops the kitsch to deliver a more polished record that’s a combination of classic-rock hooks and sultry Spanish songs. (It was produced in the Santa Monica Mountains, were greats like Neil Young, Taj Mahal, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell and members of the Doors have recorded. Even if their spirits didn’t sneak into Banhart’s studio, their influence still found their way into the music.) Diehard Banhart fans (who just cringed at the word “polishes), worry not. Your beloved, bearded daydreamer is still singing about the “sensuous scent of hibiscus,” and here and there he’ll still sing “I” in three syllables. But all those who couldn’t stomach Banhart’s “freak folk” might just love Smokey too. (Comes with a limited deluxe version with a neat booklet.) (Margi)