Hanging Fire - I command you to buy these CDs (part 2 of an ongoing series)

10:32 am - I command you to buy these CDs (part 2 of an ongoing series)

If you read the SXSW Day 2 report, you've probably noticed my rave for the band DeVotchKa. Bruce originally pointed them out to me after hearing their album How it ends reviewed on NPR.

Trying to describe the band's sound tends to make writers come up with some pretty convoluted phrasings, and I see no reason to break that tradition. They're an indie rock band of four multi-instrumentalists (at their live shows, you'll find onstage two guitars, a mandolin hooked up to an amp and effects pedals, a cute little portable vintage theremin, two trumpets, a drum set, a toy piano, an accordion, a violin, a double bass, and a sousaphone decked out in fairy lights), and they sound like a party played by a mariachi band, a troupe of Slavic gypsies, a flamenco ensemble, and a jazz trio.

If that sort of thing sounds appealing to you, you owe it to yourself to see them perform, should they come touring through your city. They have three CDs, of which I currently own two -- How it ends and SuperMelodrama (Una Volta is on the way, and I haven't heard it yet. However, the track "Death by Blonde" is one of a handful of MP3s available on their web site, and it's very good too.)

I recommend buying their albums from CDBaby. This seller deals entirely with independent bands -- DeVotchKa, for instance, is currently unsigned by any major labels. They reduce the middleman expenses and deal directly with the musicians, and the musicians get a bigger cut of the profits.