Album review + MP3: DeVotchKa follows its own muse on ’100 Lovers’

DeVotchKa 100 Lovers

DeVotchKa
100 Lovers
Anti-

Creating a follow-up to the 2008 masterpiece A Mad and Faithful Telling would be a difficult achievement for any artist, but DeVotchKa seamlessly delivers — and with gusto. This quartet’s roots are in a self-made style of multi-instrumental punk, and clearly, as this album demonstrates, they have continued on that path while evolving along the way.

The overall sound of 100 Lovers, as with many albums previous, including their 2006 score to the breakout indie film Little Miss Sunshine, is cinematic, epic, intense, emotive, exciting and soothing — often simultaneously.

On this album in particular, frontman Nick Urata sustains his vocal notes over galloping percussion that moves songs along and strings that often glide, twirl, engage and disappear before you realize just what happened. Whether on fast or slow tempos, his disciplined singing style shines through.

100 Lovers was produced with Craig Schumacher at Wavelab in Tucson, Ariz. Schumacher is best known as longtime producer for Neko Case and Calexico, among others, and his skills behind the board show well throughout this record, as on the many fine records he’s worked on previously. Ever heard Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone or Fox Confessor Brings the Flood? With the arrangements and clever production decisions on 100 Lovers, as with many great producers, one could easily make an argument that he plays the role of fifth member to the band.

The single “100 Other Lovers” is about as close to a pop song as DeVotchka gets, and the melody and subject matter offer a slight nod to the Police’s “King of Pain.” Even with all the hooks the song is never predictable — strings, reversed flute, percussion and Urata’s voice and delivery shift to drive the song as it unfolds. As the title suggests, his love interest may have 100 other lovers, but the singer chooses to shake it off by declaring, “I guess it’s just as easy if you lie to me.”

The accordion and electric guitar heavy sound of “The Man From San Sebastian” stands out as a clamorous, classy, Klezmer track. The song gracefully slides into a ghostly, ethereal guitar/theremin solo, and then jumps back into form.

Mariachi horns and accordion set up the merengue song “Contrabanda,” lifting the album with Latin spice and pizzazz. But the album’s recurring thread occurs in songs like “All The Sand In All The Sea,” “The Common Good,” “Bad Luck Heals” and “Ruthless,” all of which exude emotion like, well, like opera. An amazing, beautiful south of the border/Eastern European opera.

DeVotchKa’s 100 Lovers overall demonstrates an inimitable group at the top of its game, and like many bands I love, DeVotchKa plays by its own rules. It’s unfortunate that groups like this are too often thrown into genre boxes based on their instrumentation. If voice and instruments are colors on a pallet, the vocals, guitars, keyboard, accordion, strings, horns, bass and percussion really color the heart and soul of the album. And those dimensions, as a whole, are so richly developed.

DeVotchKa – “100 Other Lovers”

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Posted by | February 21, 2011 | Album Reviews, Music | Comment 

Breaking: New Booker T. Jones Album due out in April

Photo by Erika Goldring

Photo by Erika Goldring

If you ever wondered who the most played artist on KDHX 88.1 FM is, and we’re talking most played ever, you could do worse than guess Booker T. Jones. The master of the Hammond B3 (and no slouch on the guitar) is a founding father of soul and funk, and the go-to-choice for a music bed. Jones entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, but he hasn’t made a studio album in about 20 years. But courtesy of Anti- Records, a new album, Potato Hole, arrives on April 21, 2009. The record features backing by the Drive-By Truckers and guitar by some dude named Neil Young. Have to look that last one up. That couldn’t possibly be Shakey himself, as that would make this new album the greatest thing in the known universe.

Read more

Posted by | January 20, 2009 | Music, News | Comment 

What do you want for free?

Some indie samplers, that’s what. A few labels have made been cleaning house on 2008 by offering up free samplers, full downloads even, so you’ve got no reason not to catch up on your 2008 listening, like now.

4AD Sampler
Merge Sampler
Anti- Sampler
Red Eye Holiday Sampler (via eMusic)
Light In the Attic Fall Sampler (via Amazon)
Matador Spring Sampler
Matador Fall Sampler
Yep Roc Sampler (via Amazon)
Wichita Recordings Sampler

Let me know what I missed!

Posted by | December 17, 2008 | Music | 2 Comments 

William Elliott Whitmore’s “Old Devils”

It may seem a bit early to start looking towards 2009, but news keeps percolating down of forthcoming albums (can you say Marc Olson and Gary Louris reunited on New West?), and it’s hard to resist diving into the future.

I’ve always had an ambivalent relationship with young Lee County, Iowa songster William Elliott Whitmore. With a voice and visage straight out of a Walker Evans photograph, Whitmore straddles the line of soulful folk and southern minstrelsy, utterly obsessed with moonshine, murder and general doom. But it’s hard to deny the pure force of his scratchy basso profundo and harrowing imagery.

Due out February 17, 2009 on Anti- Records, Animals in the Dark could be a keeper, at least judging by the stomp and percussive strum and not-so-subtle political forboding of “Old Devils,” which Anti- is offering up for free download.

William Elliott Whitmore on Myspace

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Posted by | November 22, 2008 | Music | 2 Comments