Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Album Review - Devotchka

Devotchka – A Mad & Faithful Telling
[ANTI-Records; 18/03/2008]


Devotchka; damn fine moniker, it has to be said. Sadly that’s the last thing that scores brownie points in the realms of depicting a certain sound. Gypsy, Mexican, and whole host of other mind baffling terms have been thrown around the room when describing the quartet from Denver, Colorado’s latest offering, A Mad & Faithful Telling.

Anyone passing Devotchka’s delivery of music off as something of a new entity truly hasn’t been listening outside the square. Beirut and A Hawk and A Hacksaw have seemingly mastered the sounds of modern Eastern European sounds and although Devotchka deliver it in a more user-friendly sense, they still seem to manage to encroach on what their contemporaries have set in stone prior to this reckoning. Even the first track ‘Brasso Profundo’ can be passed off as Tapes ‘N’ Tapes changing their identity, playing in some village pub across Europe.

Yes, many parts of A Mad Faithful Telling have an assortment of sounds. However, these diversities comprise of Devotchka sounding very familiar to the bands that flood the music scene today, and not in the past. Examples are at a premium, but I think you get the picture.

Simon K

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