Vast Ovoid

Description

Banharts singular world remains as intoxicating as ever, as if all human life is here. Q

Devendra Banhart releases a four-song EP, Vast Ovoid, as a limited-edition 12 coloured vinyl 45. The EP features Lets See, as well as Helado Negros remix of Love Song, and is a follow-up to Banharts latest studio album, Ma, which was released to critical acclaim in September 2019.

Banhart says:

This EP was born during the Ma recording sessions, three songs that didnt quite fit in with Mas theme of maternity

Ultimately all three songs are about the difference between disappointment and disillusion

Bigger difference than I realized.

Lots more freedom in disillusion, lots more breathing space

something is echoing out each day

between our distant bodies

uncertainty has always been there, hasnt it?

Its scary

But all the seeds for real change are actually starting to grow

Onward we go tend to the garden tend to the garden

Keep your guard up

Keep your screws loose

Keep looking out for others

Keep checking in with your body

Keep returning to your breath

Tend to the garden.

Ma, full of tender, autobiographical vignettes, displays a shift from the sonic experimentation of Banharts previous albums to an intricate, captivating story-telling and emotional intimacy. Banhart favours organic sounds to accompany his voice and guitar, the arrangements bolstered by strings, woodwinds, brass, and keyboards. He sings in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Uncut says, Mas thesis is quietly revolutionary, celebrating the nurturing quality of female instinct. Banharts most focussed work to date, while Pitchfork calls it his best and most cohesive statement in more than a decade.