DeVotchKa, A Mad & Faithful Telling

I can't remember exactly where I first heard about DeVotchKa. Perhaps it was from one of the times I went trawling through ANTI- Records' catalog in a desperate search for something new. Or maybe it was through the myspace page of one of their friends of friends or something of that nature. In any event, I heard a couple of songs and was instantly intrigued.

I consider this one of my backlog albums from last year; it was released back in March of 2008, and I feel like I have been missing out on something quite magical. I only picked up A Mad & Faithful Telling last Saturday as a Valentine's Day gift to myself, and I count it as one of the better gifts I've given myself in the past couple years.

For those unfamiliar with the band, DeVotchKa is made up of four members (Nick Urata, Tom Hagerman, Jeanie Schroder, and Shawn King) and combines various different styles of music into a sort of ethnic blender with a dose of punk and folk to smooth out the mix. The result is absolutely delicious, something so familiar yet completely alien at the same time, utterly inescapable in its draw. Yes, this is a band that I have bought into hook line sinker just off one release.

How many times shall I tell thee that A Mad & Faithful Telling is a damn fine album? Ten times, music aficionados. From the first track to the last few notes, A Mad & Faithful Telling entertains with its variety and potency. Also important to note is that Nick Urata is a phenomenal songwriter (see Lyrics of The Day sidebar for evidence) in addition to being a powerful vocalist. The music is perfect and beautiful in every way. Picking out favorites is difficult since every song is so f#cking good, but the ones that really roped me in were "Transliterator," "The Clockwise Witness," and "Basso Profundo." While I'm not crazy about the sort of German Oktoberfest influence to "Blessing In Disguise," the lyrics are still of high quality and that oompah line stirs something in the genetic memory and makes me want to sway back and forth with a giant mug of beer in my hand.

Point in fact, most of this album makes me want to dance in some way. Not a thrashy sort of dance, or a night club grind, but a more intimate dance with a fine lady or gentle swaying back ang forth. You know, the sort of dance that actually requires steps and talent. I can't hold still while listening to this album.

My only complaint is that the album seems to lose steam at "Undone." While all the songs, and I do mean all, are very good, those last three tracks are lacking the energy seen in the early half of the album. Perhaps the band was looking for a gentle ending to the album and maintaining the excitement of the first half was not the intention, but it loses my attention rapidly while casually listing.

Notes on packaging: I love the cover image and choice of colors over all album materials. It actually comes with printed lyrics so we can read Urata's great songwriting! However, ANTI- needs to have a talk with the manufacturers of their digipaks; the tray doesn't appear to be glued on straight since part of the plastic is overhanging over the backing. Okay, that was my pointless nitpicking for this review; sorry I couldn't do better, but look at what I had to work with.

To summarize my rapidly dwindling thoughts on the matter, A Mad & Faithful Telling is a beautiful music experience. This is the classic notion of American ingenuity and melting pot aesthetic shaped into something truly extraordinary. If you haven't already picked it up, I strongly urge you to give yourself the gift of a new experience.

DeVotchKa's official website and myspace page