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Devotchka
To call the sad and lovely Devotchka merely polka-indie-rock or Gypsy music, is to do their startlingly original, genre-bending sound a major disservice. The band prides itself on a potpourri of influences, everything from American folk, cabaret songs, spaghetti Westerns, and the dance music of Eastern European Gypsies. They roll deep, taking the stage, clad in orchestra blacks, and unveiling a mixture of instruments not usually seen on the indie rock circuit: violin, trumpet, accordion, upright bass, tuba, and theremin.
You'd think Devotchka were from Prague, Barcelona, or the southwestern United States, but they're not. The band hails from Denver, Colorado, but claims a more cosmopolitan background. The drummer counts his heritage among Lithuanian polka musicians and studied mariachi. The upright bass player, well, she was plucked from the ranks of a traveling Civil War recreationist band to join the Devotchka. And the classically trained singer, Nick Urata, counts the Old World in his bloodstream, as he was the grandson of an arranged marriage between a Sicilian and Gypsy.
Urata's soaring voice ties the melting pot of sounds together, as he contributes his smooth and silken vocals into a snazzy antique microphone. The backdrop is earthy, ominous guitars grounding the sensual horns, playing lilting melodies fit to score old black and white movies. As soon as the stalwart piano and swooping violins enter the picture, the whole room swoons alike. And the rest of the band goes soaring alongside these jaw-droppingly gorgeous, lush songs, under the banners of a gigantic sousaphone illuminated with Christmas lights. It's a spectable even without the burlesque dancers and aerial artists found on previous tours. With a name inspired by A Clockwork Orange, you assume correctly that this band has a flair for the dramatic; it must go without saying.
Devotchka take an off-kilter mixture that, on paper, sound like experimentation entirely for the sake of experimentation, but somehow the disparate parts work. From Russia to South American to Mexico and back again, it results in a magical combination, somewhere between Amelie, The Red Violin and Ennio Morricone. Devotchka are the sound of romance and mystery incarnate.
Devotchka - How It Ends
Devotchka - You Love Me
Devotchka - Such a Lovely Thing
Devotchka - Danglin' Feet
Devotchka - Vengo! Vengo!
Devotchka - Queen of the Surface Streets
The official Devotchka site (there are additional MP3s there). Buy How It Ends from Amazon or iTunes Music Store.
Posted by Queen of the Front Row at 02.11.06 at 12:18 AM
Comments
Thank you thank you thank you for posting about Devotchka. They were one of the best bands I came across last year. Such a great band.
Posted by: T at 02.11.06 at 11:37 AM
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