LA / LBC / OC
Long Beach’s Magic Lantern have finally gone and released a new sonic document after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. Eagerly anticipated by those who have been biding their time waiting for the band to get on with their uber limited cassette only and CD-R releases (their Self-Titled CD-R was limited to 30), “High Beams”, the band’s latest opus [...]
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If you’ve felt a recent shift in cosmic alignment, or maybe a vibration emanating from the soil beneath your feet and a thick sweet sour smell of wild fauna following your every move, fear not, it’s only Devendra Banhart and the swell building beneath the imminent parturition of his latest opus, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Mountain. The first peek into the latest from this generation’s very own Lizard King is entitled “Seahorseâ€, and it’s really more than a peek, the 8-minute sonic mélange is foreplay enough to keep even the most rabid of fans hard as they await the full enchilada. If you listen closely you can even hear the alleluias now, as they cream onto their keyboards with adjective delight – Epic! – Brilliant!! – Glorious!!! Listening to the song repetitiously, I want badly to join in on their hurrahs, “A masterpiece of modern mountain wizardry…†I would proclaim. However try as I may, it’s not to be.
Surprised is the last thing that I am though, as I have never been able to grasp the jangley genius behind the turbaned Banhart. His discography of rambling, inflated elegiac lyrics and elementary guitarmanship, of which I try and tell myself are reminiscent of Tyrannosaurus Rex but can’t help thinking Manson may be more accurate (garbage dump, garbage dump…), leave me oblivious, and therefore a pariah among those who “just get it, maaan.†So where does that put “Seahorse,†the suggestive tip of what might be a divergent iceberg in the sea of Devendra.
It begins in a gentle and sanguine tone, “I’m high, and I’m happy, and I’m free…†he sings, while the guitar picking, though steady, lends a hint that this is just a preamble to something vaster. Then BAM, you’re sucker-punched with the piano riffing of The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s “Take Five,†while Banhart’s desire to be “a little seahorse†is echoed in a quavering tone – a move sure to cause confusion and speculation (two posits I’ve read claim it’s a rip-off of “Waiting for the Sun†and “Golden Brown.†I can’t hear either, but right or wrong, at least they have the moxy to callout the flimflam).
Not content in the fury of brushing drums and the sprightly trill of the flute, the song morphs again, ushered in by a funky guitar lead evocative of Band of Gypsys. Behind the sway of the lead, something between Young’s “Southern Man†and Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance†creeps in to take the reigns; the final transformation is almost complete. “Well I’m scared of ever being born again…†Banhart sings, in a voice that can only be described as Jim Morrison fellating Grace Slick, and as the music swirls into a fabric of fuzz the vocals trail off and a solo lifted from the Crazy Horse playbook takes us back into a final bar of the initial acoustic picking. It’s as if it had all been just one big dream.
Don’t believe me, take a listen to “Seahorse” (mp3) yourself.
[audio:http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/mp3/devendrabanhart_seahorse.mp3]