Ma Ma

Ma is Devendra Banhart’s first album since 2016’s Ape in Pink Marble. Bursting with tender, autobiographical vignettes, Ma displays a shift from the sonic experimentation of his previous albums to an intricate, captivating story-telling and emotional intimacy. Banhart favors organic sounds to accompany his voice and guitar, the arrangements bolstered by strings, woodwinds, brass, and keyboards. Ma addresses the unconditional nature of maternal love, the desire to nurture, the passing down of wisdom, the longing to establish the relationship of mother to child, and the consequences of that bond being broken. Its concerns are both personal and global, with subtly autobiographical looks at life and death and ruminations about the precarious state of the world. Working with Grammy Award–winning producer-musician and long-time musical compadre Noah Georgeson, the two started this particular musical journey when they were invited to record in a special room at a venerable old temple in Kyoto, after a short Asian tour. That served as a musical and spiritual prelude to what was to come. Collaborators include Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon on “Now All Gone” and folk legend Vashti Bunyan on “Will I See You Tonight.”