Devendra Banhart @ The Arches

Strange of melody and mighty of beard, the thinking music listener's esoteric singer/songwriter of choice is back. He's the hairy bloke who makes weird noises, yes? Well, not quite: there's actually a lot more to his folky racket than weirdness for weirdness' sake, and a gentler, less abrasive quality has been coaxed out of his recent offerings. Lending his track Little Yellow Spider to Orange's current advertising campaign (the adverts with people folding out from behind each other in a field...) has certainly done plenty to boost his profile and convince those who previously thought him just that bit too leftfield for their tastes. That's not to say he's become boring: even the briefest of listens to new album Cripple Crow will tell you that he still has plenty of unexpected ideas up his sleeve, and as for his live shows, there's certainly no confusing Banhart with anyone else. [Heather Crumley]