Devendra Banhart's Nino Rojo is the companion album to Rejoicing in the Hands of the Golden Empress, which was released earlier this year by Mike Gira and Young God Records. It is not a follow-up album to Banhart's "break-through" album; these records were recorded in the same sessions and will be soon released jointly as a double vinyl album. Basically, there was so much new and amazing material it had to be split into two releases, even though this music all belongs together. The way these musics were divided is by the perspective from which each song was written; Banhart has explained that Rejoicing is sung from the experienced point of view of a mother, while Nino Rojo is from the exuberant viewpoint of a young child, or son, who is experiencing things for the first time.

This being said, I am not sure if I entirely "get it". To me, the majority of Nino Rojo songs are actually slower-paced than their counterparts. Nino Rojo begins with a cover of Ella Jenkins's "Wake Up, Little Sparrow" that is simply sublime. Examples of excitement and all-around playfulness are the songs "Little Yellow Spider" and "At the Hop" (also included on the disc in music video format). But most of the album is quite slow and intimate, such as the lullaby-esque "Water May Walk," and "Horseheadfleshwizard."

I feel like the phrase "Not everyone can relate to what you and I appreciate", the repeated refrain of "Noah", is very reflective of these soul-sibling albums; while you may not feel all of the jams, I'm willing to bet that at least one from each album will hit home and resonate within your ventricles and atriums.

-Sarah Stedman