Devotchka

Band: DeVotchKa
Sound: Eastern European gypsy-folk from Colorado
Album: A Mad and Faithful Telling
Label: Anti-
Show: Saturday, May 3rd 8pm @ The Showbox 

Before landing on the Anti- label, DeVotchKa have had a run that is as unique as their music. The group was the house-band for a burlesque show, contributed ten tracks to the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack, turned down a McDonald’s commercial spot, and is probably the only band to have opened for both Belle and Sebastian and Marilyn Manson. Nick Urata formed the band in Denver in 1997, adding musicians with talent as diversified as his own. Songs feature a blend therein, guitar, bouzouki, piano, trumpet, violin, accordion, piano, sousaphone, double bass, and trumpet. The mix results in a fusion of polka, mariachi and folk with a signature edginess that removes it from the realm of strictly traditional music. 

A Mad and Faithful Telling, DeVotchKa’s first full-length on the Anti- label, is full of romping dance numbers and glittering ballads. Urata’s vocals carry the album, warbling during the waltzy “Blessing in Disguise,” crooning through “Along the Way” and adding mellifluous harmonies to ballads like “Undone.” Stylistically, the band is polarizing. Many fall for the gypsy charm and mariachi beauty; others find the effect tiresome. It’s nearly impossible to predict on which side the album will find a person, just as it is difficult to describe the overall aesthetic.
   
In the past, DeVotchKa shows have been a spectacle of sound and performance art. Don’t be surprised to see a cabaret-inspired addition to the foursome dancing delicately through the mess of instruments cluttering the stage. Expect to be charmed, and expect to be impressed. DeVotchKa will play the Showbox May 3rd at 8pm. A Mad and Faithful Telling is available everywhere on Anti-.