DeVotchKa

Van Morrison may have told us that he wanted to rock our gypsy souls, but it's Colorado-based band DeVotchKa who has actually gone and done it. The worldly band has been making indie music for Albanian grandmothers since 2000, but it was their work on the 2006 indie darling Little Miss Sunshine that catapulted them into the limelight. But fame hasn't cramped DeVotchKa's style; their madcap ways are still intact. Their latest studio effort, the aptly named A Mad and FaithfulTelling, retains their signature sound without retreading old territory.

Telling is a testament to DeVotchKa's fondness for amalgamating various ethnic music traditions. The group's gypsy-inspired folk rock is a dynamic one, and unlike bands like Balkan Beat Box and Gogol Bordello, DeVotchKa's music isn't about doctoring modern sounds with Eastern European kitsch. Rather, DeVotchKa is like a musical UN, bringing sounds from across space and time together in harmony. And the sounds of Telling are no exception.

On "Comrade Z," the fast-paced strings and brass evoke Eastern European Klezmer, but the instrumental melodrama is also reminiscent of a silent film soundtrack (preferably one where a wax mustached villain ties down an ingenue on railroad tracks). The rich and sunny horns of "Along The Way" are so authentic they could orchestrate a wedding in Guadalajara. The only thing that stops the track from becoming a full on Mexican ballad is lead singer Nick Urata's vocals—he's a dead ringer for David Byrne. The band continues its love of spectacle on "Blessing in Disguise," where the "one, two, one, two" beats of a 19th century waltz prevail. On the beautifully layered "Undone," Urata channels a young Tom Waits against a backdrop of Spanish guitar and mournful strings. The interlude "Strizzalo" could easily have scored Amelie: the track's playful accordion and xylophone take listeners straight to the banks of the Seine. While the band's variety of musical influences puts them in danger of sounding erratic, they manage to bring everything together with finesse, making Mexican rancheros and Eastern European waltzers sound like old friends in the process.

—Elisa Jacobs
04.03.08

Like the stately, mature parents of Gogol Bordello, DeVotchKa have created a unique niche by mixing eastern and western traditions into the same pot. A Mad and Faithful Telling is their first release since the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack expanded their fan base tenfold, and it continues the group's unique cultural mishmash, sounding like a Morrissey-fronted Calexico playing norteño tunes in an Eastern European ballroom. It's a veritable circus of styles, none of which are normally associated with Colorado's musical climate. But that doesn't stop DeVotchKa from turning in a performance that is at once elegant and wildly passionate, with bandleader Nick Urata leading the pack like a half-drunken opera school dropout. His vocals are uniquely stunning, interlaced with bits of Spanish and brimming with vibrato. With help from his three bandmates and a five-piece string section, he turns even the most somber lyrics ("So this is the city? So this is progress? How can something so pretty become such a mess?") into the sort of sweeping serenades that inspire listeners to raise a wine glass, toast the stereo, and howl along. Elsewhere, the group flirts with spaghetti western music, turning songs like "Head Honcho" and "Undone" into potential candidates for the next Quentin Tarantino film. And lest anyone question DeVotchKa's chops, A Mad and Faithful Telling also includes two lively instrumental numbers: "Comrade Z," which blends mariachi horns with a gypsy-jig beat, and "Strizzalo," an Italian-styled waltz with accordion, tuba, and romantic violins. Bouncing from Mexico City to Prague to Milan to Denver over the course of ten songs, DeVotchKa's fourth full-length shows a band aging gracefully and eccentrically. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide