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

Neko Case, "People Got A Lotta Nerve" - Blog for A Cause

For those of you interested in the music of Neko Case, you probably already know that she will have a new album out this year. Just released is a song off this new album, "People Got A Lotta Nerve." Free download too. I'm a bit of a new fan myself, having only recently picked up Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. I'm excited about Middle Cyclone, coming out on March 3rd of this year, and I'm liking "People Got A Lotta Nerve."

Now, aside from the fact that it's a free single, there's also something else happening in regard to this song. According to the ANTI- Records blog, ANTI- and Neko Case will be making a cash donation to Best Friends Animal Society every time there's a blog repost for this song. Or something to that effect; I've been living up to my blog's title again, so my judgement is a tad cloudy right now. Thus, I am bringing this to your attention in the hopes that you will read about what's happening and understand it better than I do.

In any event, good cause and all that. I like artists that support good causes, so all the more reason to support the artists that fight the good fight.

Neko Case's website and myspace
ANTI-'s website, myspace, and blog

[Okay, I was trying to get the iMeem player to work on here, but fat chance of that. If you really must listen to it first before downloading to your 30,000 gigabit harddrive that spins damn near the speed of light, then listen to it at the ANTI- blog entry regarding "People Got A Lotta Nerve" here.]

Sarah Slean, The Baroness Redecorates EP

Sorry for being scarce, my few but loyal readers. Well, at least I think you're loyal. Belts have been tight in these parts, so I haven't had the graft to keep up with everything I want to write about. For awhile, I was thinking about simply calling it quits rather than leave this thing open with nothing happening. However, we're back for at least one more ride around the block.

If you've been paying attention, you already know that I'm a huge sucker for women musicians that arm themselves with pianos. During my searches for new music to review this year, I stumbled onto a performer I had never heard of, Canadian native Sarah Slean. Unfortunately, someone at her record label has a vicious hatred of America, so her albums aren't released here in the USofA. Poo. That roadblock thus standing in my way, plus the fact that I was too stupid to simply visit the online store at her website, I never ordered The Baroness, her offering for 2008's list of new releases.

So, many months pass since I, like a bonehead, forget to buy The Baroness, instead wasting the money that would have been better spent on good music at worthless bars in my boring hometown. I spot a myspace bulletin from the Sarah Slean page, stating that a limited availability EP of b-sides and unreleased material was to be released within a few days of the post (December 9th, to be exact). The EP would only be available as a digital download, or as a CD sold at live shows and in small quantities at the online store. I hate it when artists do this; they put together a small release of songs that weren't widely available to begin with, and then only sell it at live performances. I notice this is done primarily by musicians that never tour anywhere near me, leaving me with the option of either buying it from some online scalper that marks up the price to double original sale, or resigning myself to never owning a physical copy and bootlegging the damn thing.

So, at some late hour December 8th, I created an account at sarahslean.com/store. By 12:05am December 9th, my order was placed for The Baroness Redecorates. By Saturday, it had arrived.

I can't say the packaging is anything extravagant. The cardboard sleeve method of CD packing seems to be cropping up everywhere, but this is ridiculous. You'd think they could have at least given it a double sleeve, inner and outer, for protection. Aside from women with pianos, I'm also a big sucker for fonts. The 1920's/1930's art deco sort of font that adorns the cover is quite nice, and very fitting for Slean's overall style and effect. But enough of this hooey, we're here to hear about music.

As we've already established, Sarah Slean, being both female and a pianist, typically gets lumped into the genre of "piano pop." However, what really makes her work stand out for me is how un-pop it is. From what I've heard on The Baroness Redecorates, she veers away from the popular stylings of contemporary piano-heavy music and focuses on more classic forms. I'm no expert on such styles, me being a lowly critic and not a music theory major, but I'm hearing all kinds of good stuff: "Parasol" is a lovably demented tango; "Compatriots" is a bewitching waltz. The amazing string sections on "Modern Man I &II," "Hear Me Out," and "The 'Disarm' Suite" break the assumption that she's writes music solely for the piano. Class and style seemingly come naturally to Ms. Slean, and I'm entirely enticed and swept away to a alternate 1920's imaginary world. I love her singing voice, and her songwriting is excellent. The music is wistful, romantic, dramatic, and occasionally absurd.

Now that we've got the praise out of the way, I can't say for sure if this is an ideal place to start for the Slean neophyte. Sure, the music is great on all levels, but bear in mind that The Baroness Redecorates is a collection of b-sides and other tracks cut from The Baroness. The very title implies that this EP is significantly different from the album with which it shared recording sessions. There stands the possibilty that these tracks were cut from The Baroness because they simply didn't fit in with the majority of the songs in any way. Since this is my introduction to Ms. Slean's music, I have no idea what the rest of her catalog sounds like, and how this compares to the majority of her work. I feel as though I've been given a glimpse into another world, a fantastical realm where art deco never left and all that can be seen is beautiful with the right touch of style, but my vision is blurry because of an impacting opera glove that sent my glasses flying across the room after I made a saucy comment regarding an elegant lady's elegant dress's neckline.

Sorry, lost my place there. The Baroness Redecorates is a right treat, exquisite in every sense, made of pure elegance. Since this is an EP, it comes with that criminally short sensation associated with EPs of higher quality. I can only say I'm thirsting for more, and will no doubt sooner or later venture further into that unknown realm of Sarah Slean's musical beauty, hoping this sample was but a taste of what's to come and not a radical oddity.

Unfortunately, the sarahslean.com store is out of copies of The Baroness Redecorates (sold out in under a day, so I heard), so if you want the CD, you're going to have to either hunt for it on eBay or make a drive to Canada to see one of her live performances.



Sarah Slean's official website and myspace

Quick Notification

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM WAITS!

Pointless Earworm Post

I have a Nickelback song stuck in my head.

Please, make it stop. Preferably without the use of firearms.


Yeah, there was no other point to this post. Deal with it. I'll put up something next week.

Sarianna & The Swell live video "Self-Serving Sympathy"

Yeah, I've been ganking videos off band's myspace pages out of pure laziness. You've heard my reasons for sporadic updates, they're completely valid, so pipe down.

Here's someone introduced to me several years ago. Last time I met Sarianna in person, we were all drunk and I was vomiting all over the place. Truth be told, I don't remember much of that night other than strobe lights doing terrible things to my eyes and forcing a run to the men's room. It was a wild ride. And her band wasn't even performing that night!

Anyway, here's a recording of Sarianna & The Swell performing "Self-Serving Sympathy" at Cousin Larry's in Danbury, CT.



For more inflammation, please visit Sarianna's myspace page, find out where she and her band are playing next, and maybe even buy a CD (something I have yet to do myself; sorry, I gots no monies).

I'm Not Dead Yet...

... I feel happy! I feel-*thunk*

Yes, I know that updates have been few and far between over here. What can I say? The economy is rotten, and my budget has been in the toilet since long before this blog was ever created.

In the spirit of the holiday, I trust you are all picking out your favorite creepy-gothic-whatsits off the shelf and playing them loud and proud.

Here's to hoping for an improvement in my finances in the near future, because there is tons of stuff that I want to review but just haven't had the scratch for.

In the meantime, here's a little something from NYC's post-punk cult favorites, The Hunt. They put on a hell of a show, so definitely check them out.



Okay, that video is a little cheesy, but shut up, they're an awesome band. See how many independent NYC band members you can count that made guest appearances in that video.



[The Hunt at myspace]