Cripple Crow (CD - 2005)

This diverse, engaging album finds the pied piper of the neo-psych-folk movement finally emerging--dirty and barefoot--from the lo-fi forest and into Woodstock's famed Bear Mountain Studio, backed by a loose conglomerate of musicians dubbed Hairy Fairy. The production polish doesn't clean the songs up so much as make them warmer and more relaxed. "Santa Maria De Feira," with its vocal harmonies, shaker, flute, and Spanish lyrics, follows a mournful, cello-backed opener that recalls Nick Drake. "Heard Somebody Say" combines timeless anti-war lyrics and Brasil '66-style vocals with a lurching piano-and-drums groove, while "When they Come" stands out as a beautiful work of hushed melancholy, with a vibe strung-out enough for a Mazzy Star record.

With 22 tracks, this is no wild, shirtless shout in the moonlight but a sophisticated work of countercultural art that would be right at home as a mind-bending double LP from 1968. The electric-guitar freak-out in "Long Haired Child," the sing-along of "Some People Ride the Wave," and the mumbling and growling in "The Beatles" all serve to demonstrate just how goofy Banhart's songs can be while still aching with intense profundity. minimize