Denver four piece Devotchka rolled into London as part of their current European tour and presented their usual full-blooded eclectic mix of (amongst others) Romany, Greek, Polka, Latino and Mariachi stylings with American punk and folk roots. A heady brew that is absolutely addictive in a live setting. Their latest album A Mad And Faithful Telling has brought them back less than a year after the delayed release here of US breakthrough How It Ends from 2006 - you may have heard several tracks from the soundtrack of the ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ movie even if you don’t recognise Devotchka outright. Continue Reading

The young denizens of Shoreditch left their inhibitions at home last night and partied away to an overwhelmingly barnstorming performance from Devotchka. After a warm up gig in the rural backwater of Ottery St. Mary in Devon (I wonder what happened there exactly), they found themselves in a small dark and sweaty east London club - and loved every minute. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. First up, the MGM fanfare and police sirens greeted the arrival of Paul St. Paul and the Apostles - all frilly knickers and pearl necklaces - and that was just the lads. I thought I had woken up in 1982, with Hot Gossip re-enacting the Rocky Horror Show. Blatantly miming throughout except for lead singer Paul St. Paul, I have no idea what’s going on here - drama students having some fun with cheeky disco performance art? Pulling it off without being booed off stage was an achievement of sorts in itself - largely due to their own small travelling barmy army being in attendance, and a Devotchka audience open-minded to visuals, mystery, and something off-the-wall. I can’t say I really want to find out more, having suffered Spandau Ballet et al the first time around thank you very much, but it was entertaining as a one-off and thought had gone into props and choreography. So, if dressing up in tu-tus, basques and vintage frocks (be you male or female) and partying like its 1999 is your thing, then get on down and check them out.

On the face of it, it would have been difficult to imagine more of a clash with what Devotchka were promising to serve up, but in their early days Devotchka were a burlesque backing band, and Paul St. Paul and friends had certainly loosened up the audience. Now packing tighter and buzzing with anticipation as they eyed up a stage littered with exotic instruments - sousaphone, bouzouki, theremin, accordian. How could these be used to reproduce the complex and emotional studio sound? Nine fifteen and out walked the quartet charged with rustling up this maelstrom. Only Nick Urata’s heavy stubble and battered cowboy boots gave any indication of them being anything other than an eminently sensible bunch. Violin/accordian demon Tom Hagerman looked like an actuary after a hard days number crunching in the City, whilst both drummer/trumpeter (sometimes at the same time) Shawn King and fairy-light-lit-sousaphone/upright bass player Jeanie Schroder all smart casual and innocuous.

An hour and fifty minutes and two encores later I was drenched in sweat but completely euphoric. The same goes for Devotchka. Though his three friends remained relatively restrained, Nick Urata was a frenzied performer. Greek dancing, leaping and straining to get those weird notes out of the theremin, toasting the audience from an ever present wine bottle, this was magical stuff. The club atmosphere leant itself to the dark sounds of their cover of Venus In Furs, and the eerie whistling and grizzly guitar of Enemy Guns had the walls shaking. I had wondered if Urata’s aching vocals would transfer unscathed to a live show. Often intentionally distorted via the antique microphone like the fiery Latino propaganda voice of Radio Castro, even when exposed his voice was equal to the task. Haunting. Overall the sound was immense - full of texture belying the fact that this was only a four-piece, and with enough volume to pack a solid punch without loosing detail. How It Ends was delivered mid-set with the crowd participating in the rousing anthemic chorus. For any uptempo number wild dancing and clapping was spontaneous and enthusiastic - Such a Lovely Thing and Queen Of The Surface Streets especially turning everyone bezerk. “Tonight Matthew, I’m going to be a dervish”. It’s hard to pick out highlights: there were so many. Just one of those great, great night’s out, and a must see for the next time they’re back in the UK.

Links
Devotchka [official site] [myspace]

Every so often an album comes along that draws you into it’s own world, taking on a living presence in your consciousness with it’s particular moods and meanings. It happens less often in the pick’n’mix download era, but Devotchka’s How It Ends is to be savoured as a whole, a mystical blend of styles crafted from a musical palate spread wide from the Rio Grande to the Bosphorus, taking in everything from cabaret to casbah, bunkhouse to bordello, prairie to polka-punk. OK, I’ll stop there. Vocalist Nick Urata has been quoted as saying that it’s a concept album, telling “the story of a young Ranchero who survives going to war, only to find his childhood sweetheart has married a rich man for the love of money”. I’m not sure whether that was said with tongue firmly in cheek, but you get some idea of the range of emotions wrapped up in this album. It’s a wonderfully crafted Rubik’s cube of interlocking wonders, twist it one way and a new sound is revealed (theremin, sousaphone); twist it another and the scene changes completely again - from mournful to ecstatic, longing to laughter.

I’m probably late to the party, since How It Ends had it’s US release 3 years ago and has garnered much praise amongst those in the know since, but only now have the fiercely independent Denver band negotiated an official European release. Word of mouth and exuberant live visuals (exotic dancers hanging from the ceiling anyone?) have seen them build up a following, boosted by the publicity of successful film score work for Little Miss Sunshine - which features a couple of tracks originally recorded here. Cinematic is certainly a suitable description, with a touch of the similarly gifted Calexico, the dusty vistas of Ennio Morricone and the inventiveness of the wonderful and sadly missed Penguin Cafe Orchestra. There are more interesting nooks and crannies than the slightly monotone Arcade Fire, and the passion of Gogol Bordello with a bucket load more nuance.

The instrumental Such A Lovely Thing sounds like a drunken band of gypsies stumbling into a Turkish house of pleasure, the long lost soundtrack to Carry On Caliph. Meanwhile, title track How It Ends is as bleak as a suicide note to a lover and sees Nick Urata’s straining vocals climb over a repetitive Moog tone and searing strings. It’s that kind of rollercoaster ride - stuffed full of drama without being bloated and obese. Urata has also said “I think it is the album we will always be remembered for”. If only every band had earnt that luxury. It’s hard to know how to do it all justice. Just buy it, and their whole catalogue while you’re at it. They’re in the UK now and I’ve just got tickets to see them on Monday (nothing to do with the lure of possible exotic dancers honest - my wife will be in tow), so my own cash is on the line. I’m a bit of a tight git, so I can’t give a stronger recommendation than that.
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Links
Devotchka [official site] [myspace]