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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solo tù y yo, that's what I want the most, March 22, 2008
DeVotchKa has always done the gypsyish-rock sound, and in their last album "How It Ends" they added a poignant string section.
Well, they do one better in "A Mad and Faithful Telling," a gloriously energetic, sepia-toned ride that juggles rock, pop, Eastern European dance, and a tinge of that heartbreaking orchestral music. As it makes you laugh and breaks your heart, DeVotchKa turns out their most balanced, polished album to date.
"I'm concentrated on the wrong side of the law/From the creator/of this beautiful strip mall/A decimator of the cinder block world," Nick Urata wails over tight, nimble violins and a bouncy, raucous tune.
But it has its sadder moments -- a stretch of lamenting cries and bolero-flavoured music, followed by a greed-inspired reflection ("All the world is for the taking/Just forget the hearts you're breaking/Is this love that you are making/or is it a deal?"). Then they break out the mariachi horns for the stately, swirling "Along The Way," and the xylophone and sweeping violins for the bittersweetly exquisite "Clockwork Witness."
Those songs set the tone for the rest of the album -- rough-edged gypsy-rockers, energetic fiddle dance, haunting Romany ballads, confusingly swirly rockers, and Spanish-flavoured laments. There's even a pure rock tune near the end, a slightly schizoid little song ("Beautifully mutilated, insanely antiquated/I will admit I almost always underestimate it...")
Even if their music wasn't so much fun, DeVotchKa would still stick out a mile -- they used to play burlesque clubs, their name is a Russsian word for "woman," and the members' musical backgrounds... well, it would take too much time to recount. Suffice to say, DeVotchKa's latest does a brilliant balancing act with ballads, rockers and dancey traditional music, sometimes all in one song.
In fact, if there's a flaw with this album, it's that the best songs are so brilliant that the others seem merely good by comparison. As a whole, "A Mad And Faithful Telling" sounds like a journey through Europe with a bunch of rock'n'roll gypsies, looking at the sights and soaking up the old cultures.
Instead of sticking to one style, they juggle and intertwine three or four. We get some guitar (both punky and Spanishy acoustic), solid drums and some piano as the core -- and around that, they spin a cloud of shifting trumpets, accordion, bouzouki, tinkly theremin and upright bass. And there's a web of violins -- nimble, scraping like fiddles, or smoothly sweeping in an epic arc.
Urata has one of those great warbling voices often found in Eastern European music. And the lyrics match his yowly vocals -- laments about greed, confusing love songs, and even a prayer where he announces that "you know I never hurt no one/What I have stolen won't be missed" and warns that "If you must take me/I can not go peacefully/I left someone waiting for me..."
"A Mad and Faithful Telling" is mad, but remains faithful to no style. Ballads, mariachi-flavoured dance and gypsy rock'n'roll are all woven into this amazing little album... and it ends up being their best.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing, March 22, 2008
A Mad and Faithful Telling is an incredible piece of work. Simply beautiful and stirring music. Didn't know much about Devotchka before seeing them at a Red Rocks festival last year where they stole the show. Have since bought all their CD's and in my opinion, this one's the best. The Clockwise Witness, Undone and Blessing in Disguise are all great songs, but Transliterator is outstanding rising in emotion throughout.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful, May 19, 2008
It's a beautifully lush and layered album that draws from a number of classic styles. It takes you to another place and time... I can't help but imagine myself riding on horseback across the countryside or watching belly dancers perform in an opium-filled speakeasy!
If you've liked their other albums or the soundtrack to "Little Miss Sunshine," this album is a must-have.
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