Devotchka

Thursday

SXSW Platters

Devotchka

A Mad & Faithful Telling (Anti-)

The Digital Age has sparked the globalization of indie pop, heard in everything from Beirut and Gogol Bordello to Vampire Weekend and M.I.A. Not since Doug Sahm's Texas Tornados, however, has an act so uniquely coined its own multicultural currency as Denver's Devotchka. A Mad & Faithful Telling, the quartet's Anti- debut and first full-length since producing the Grammy-nominated score to Little Miss Sunshine, unsheathes a musical realm without boundaries, beginning with opener "Basso Profundo," which blends Eastern European folk with Morricone-style spaghetti Western noir for Cirque du Soleil acrobatics. "Along the Way" introduces mariachi horns and "Head Honcho" dabbles in Germanic polka, both accentuated by guitarist Nick Urata's quivering Orbison croon. Stunning Spanish bolero "Undone," instrumental Russian suite "Comrade Z," and elegantly stringed "The Clockwise Witness" perfectly balance transcendent moments like "Transliterator." Devotchka's captured the sound of a new world order. (Thursday, March 13, Cedar Street Courtyard, 12mid; Friday, March 14, Antone's, 12mid.)

****

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

Support the Chronicle  

READ MORE
SXSW Announces More Speakers for 2024 Digging Deeper Into AI and the Future of Work
SXSW Announces More Speakers for 2024 Digging Deeper Into AI and the Future of Work
Dylan Mulvaney, Chuck D, and Uber CEO all added as speakers

Oct. 24, 2023

SXSW Tackles AI in 2024 Speaker List
SXSW Tackles AI in 2024 Speaker List
Rosario Dawson, ChatGPT head appearing next year

Richard Whittaker, Aug. 29, 2023

More Music Reviews
Review: Holy Wave, <i>Five of Cups</i>
Review: Holy Wave, Five of Cups
Five of Cups (Record Review)

Raoul Hernandez, Sept. 1, 2023

Review: The Bright Light Social Hour, <i>Emergency Leisure</i>
Review: The Bright Light Social Hour, Emergency Leisure
Emergency Leisure (Record Review)

Raoul Hernandez, Aug. 4, 2023

More by Austin Powell
The American Analog Set’s Heavy Return and Seven More Songs From Austin Artists
The American Analog Set’s Heavy Return and Seven More Songs From Austin Artists
New music picks from Pelvis Wrestley, NOOK Turner, the Teeta, and more

Nov. 3, 2023

Review: Explosions in the Sky, <i>End</i>
Review: Explosions in the Sky, End
ATX instrumental band's seventh studio album is also its first in seven years

Sept. 29, 2023

KEYWORDS FOR THIS STORY

Devotchka, SXSW

MORE IN THE ARCHIVES
NEWSLETTERS
One click gets you all the newsletters listed below

Breaking news, arts coverage, and daily events

Keep up with happenings around town

Kevin Curtin's bimonthly cannabis musings

Austin's queerest news and events

All questions answered (satisfaction not guaranteed)

Information is power. Support the free press, so we can support Austin.   Support the Chronicle