DeVotchKa: A Mad and Faithful Telling

How does a band from Denver end up sounding like an exotic blend of disparate folk stylings? Well, if the band is DeVotchKa, they pull it off by having a singer (Nick Urata) descended from Sicilian and Gypsy ancestors, a classically trained violinist (Tom Hagerman), a bassist (Jeanie Schroder) who used to play sousaphone in a Civil War recreationist band, and a drummer (Shawn King) that also doubles on trumpet and was raised by Lithuanian polka musicians. I guess with such a diverse patchwork of influences, there ain’t no way in hell this band’s going to sound commonplace.

DeVotchKa sound like they stepped out of a dream, and a good one at that, with elements of gypsy, klezmer and mariachi traditions all mixed together with a sly pop sense. The instrumentation is always being rearranged from track to track, with guitar, accordion, trumpets, toy piano and some wicked-ass fiddling all taking turns fleshing out the backdrop for Urata’s impassioned vocals.

A Mad and Faithful Telling is the band’s first album of original material since writing the score for the film Little Miss Sunshine in 2005 (for which the soundtrack LP received a Grammy nomination), so fans of the band have reason to rejoice when this disc hits the streets on the 18th. There’s a good set of songs here, from the demented ska-like “Basso Profundo” to the sublime elegance of “The Clockwise Witness,” and the electric piano-tinged single “Transliterator” just begs for repeat listenings. At the end of the album there’s “A New World,” a somber little tune in 6/8 featuring one of Schroder’s chilling wordless vocals that could easily be the mythical song of the sirens finally caught on tape. By the time the last chord of that tune plays, I just need a little moment of silence to take it all in and decide whether or not I have to hear the whole damn album again immediately (the answer is yes more often than not).

Something tells me this records going to be sneaking its way back into my playlist for a long time.

Search for songs by DeVotchKa on iTunes