Fans of Devendra Banhart know conventional rules of music don’t apply to his work — even the flexible, ever-changing rules of indie rock. The enigmatic singer-songwriter is known for his lack of continuity through his 14-year career, a style that created a kaleidoscopic eight-album discography. His genre is indefinable, his music ranging from soft acoustic ballads to gleeful rock and roll to classical instrumentals, often within the same song.
After releasing the brooding, ground-breaking album “Mala,” Banhart all but dropped off the map for three years. “Ape in Pink Marble” is his ninth LP — the fruit of his supposed labors during that time — and is something of a mixed bag.
Longtime Banhart fans have plenty to love with his new music, as his beautiful acoustics are present in much of the songs, but they don’t quite reach the standard set by his previous album. They’re pleasant, but fail to set themselves apart in any way.
A notable exception, however, is “Theme for a Taiwanese Woman in Lime Green,” which mixes a lovely melody bolstered by an orchestra with sweet, hopeful lyrics: “I wanna love you again / Even though we’ve yet to even meet.”
Every artist has the right to experiment, and that’s especially true of someone with Banhart’s caliber of musical genius, but that doesn’t necessarily mean what they make will be enjoyable. Aside from the strong acoustics and two very entertaining songs, “Fancy Man” and “Fig in Leather,” Banhart’s genre-bending is more strange than successful on “Ape.” “Mourner’s Dance” is the culmination of this, a bizarre electronic song that sounds like a funeral march by A Flock of Seagulls, slowed down and given incomprehensible lyrics.
“Ape in Pink Marble” is an album of quiet beauty, and like everything Banhart creates, it requires patience, but ultimately, listeners probably come away feeling less than satisfied. There is nothing offensively unpleasant about the music, but there are also few points of brilliance. Fans of his past work have been spoiled by consistently strong albums, and this is just one of the weaker of the bunch. Its last song, “Celebration,” is a perfect example — consisting of just the title repeated over an unremarkable melody. There’s really not much to celebrate.
It may not be Banhart’s best, but hopefully “Ape in Pink Marble” is an experimental outlier in an otherwise breathtaking musical career.
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