Devendra Banhart released a four-song EP, Vast Ovoid, as a limited-edition 12” colored vinyl 45 on Nonesuch on July 24, 2020. Pre-order the vinyl to download the tracks “Let’s See" and “Love Song (Helado Negro Remix)” now. The EP is a follow-up to Banhart’s latest studio album, Ma, which was released to critical acclaim in September 2019 and includes the original version of "Love Song."

Banhart says:

“This EP was born during the Ma recording sessions, three songs that didn’t quite fit in with Ma’s theme of maternity …

Ultimately all three songs are about the difference between disappointment and disillusion …

Bigger difference than I realized ...

Lots more freedom in disillusion, lots more breathing space ...

something is echoing out each day

between our distant bodies …

uncertainty has always been there, hasn’t it?

It’s scary …

But all the seeds for real change are actually starting to grow …

Onward we go ... tend to the garden tend to the garden

Keep your guard up

Keep your screws loose

Keep looking out for others

Keep checking in with your body

Keep returning to your breath

Tend to the garden.”

Ma, full of tender, autobiographical vignettes, displays a shift from the sonic experimentation of Banhart’s 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. He sings in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Uncut says, “Ma’s thesis is quietly revolutionary, celebrating the nurturing quality of female instinct. Banhart’s most focussed work to date,” while Pitchfork calls it “his best and most cohesive statement in more than a decade.”