DEVENDRA BANHART & NOAH GEORGESON 

2021 NEW-AGE/AMBIENT

Refuge is the first, as far as I know, collaborative album from folkster Devendra Banhart and Noah Georgeson. Do pay attention to the genres at the top as this is not a typical Banhart record of folky and latin influences. This is almost entirely new-age in nature, I reckon some readers aren’t entirely in the know with the genre so I added ambient to give people a general idea which will no doubt piss off the ambient music crowd, rightfully so. In short, new-age music is non-engaging mood music intended to elicit relaxation, and “good vibes”. A silent yoga studio with nothing but the sound of stretching clothes and creaking bones would just be weird, that’s where new-age music comes in. Refuge is that for its roughly hour run time with the exception of the surprisingly sorrowful For Em but its a minor detour at best and smack in the middle this mind-numbing snooze fest so by the time you get to it you are too sedated to realize its arrival and when the end finally arrives albums you forgot the track even existed. Normally this is the point where I say “I don’t recommend you listen to Refuge” but it’s not meant to be listened to in the first place. If you need some zen atmosphere while you are engrossed in a completely different activity I suppose you could do worse but I sincerely hope that is not what you are looking for in music. 

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