Heave Media

World Music Be Damned, Why Must I Respect You So?

DeVotchKa gets your head turning globally with an album that hits right at home.

DeVotchKa

A Mad and Faithful Telling

Released on Nov 30, -0001

Does anyone remember that scene in High Fidelity where Rob (Cusack) starts listing off the reasons he despises “Ian?” There’s the odorous smells that elicit from Ian’s cooking, there’s the rings on every finger and there’s, of course, the imaginary sex that Ian is having with Laura, Rob’s recent ex. What probably irks Rob the most, though, is Ian’s love of contemporary world music, or, “Whatever was popular that month.”

This is exactly how I felt listening to the entirety of DeVotchKa’s A Mad & Faithful Telling. The album kicks off with a merengue-sounding blend of punk, and Latin vibe that persists throughout. I say persists for a reason.

While the band exhibited their ability to illustrate feeling, vibe, ideas, whatever you want to call it, with their appearances all across the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack, I have a hard time allowing this form of music to transfer over to a long-listening experience. In my own ear, Urata’s voice seems to be completely overdramatic (I know, that’s their signature) and pairs in hyperbole with the rest of the quartet’s completely overdone song structuring. But that’s my personal opinion. I feel that DeVotchKa is actually an amazing band, just not my thing. Let me clue you in to a few highlights of the new album.

While not a new motif for the band, two instrumental songs not only fill in the gaps, but provide an extremely pleasant and exhalatory break from the rest of the album. There’s real attention in every tiny instrumentation (and there are a lot from these four players: theremin, bouzouki, trumpet, piano, violin, accordion and sousaphone, in addition to the traditional guitar, bass, drums). Trying to follow the vocal stylings of Urata gets in the way a lot of time when it comes to noticing the professional and intricate parts from all four, but these two tracks clue you in to what is also going on throughout the rest of the album; this leads to exponential appreciation of the entire work.

You can also find some of the best production I’ve ever heard from a band of this caliber. It feels like they’ve worked with an expert in how every sort of world music they sample from and allowed that aesthetic to take over not only the influence, but also their own end product. The result is some of the most crystal-clear song movements and perfected world-punk vibe to date.

Urata’s voice, as I’ve mentioned, is completely over the top. It stretches and reaches for every note with undying passion for every syllable. For this sort of music, it’s perfect. If I heard the cross between a Colorado-native and a Spaniard laced over anything other than this Latino/polka/mariachi/punk-band’s sound, I’d fire a gun at anyone attempting to look as pretentious as they sounded. But there’s cohesion with DeVotchKa. No one can deny that.

Not my own, nor Mr. Cusack’s cup of tea, but an appreciable album for anyone. For world-music or post-rock fusion enthusiasts, this is an undeniable album for the year. Probably the best of this sort of modern fusion put out to date. It’s Devotchka at the top of their game and, if you and Ian can handle it, then you deserve Laura and the enjoyment of this album’s 42 minutes.

The High Point : The violin on “Comrade Z” makes me wish I were something other than white.

The Low Point: While triumphant, I wanted the final track to really slam something home. “New World” sloughs across the finish line in an epic, but not dominant, manner.

The Quick Point: DeVotchKa is in the middle of a U.S. tour right now, with a Chicago stop on May 9 at the Vic, sure to be an amazing show at a great venue.

Posted by Mark Steffen on Apr 29, 2008 @ 12:00 am