A Mad & Faithful Telling

Last updated

A Mad & Faithful Telling
A Mad & Faithful Telling.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 18, 2008 (2008-03-18)
RecordedWavelab Studio, Tucson, AZ
NFA, Denver, CO
Genre Indie folk, gypsy punk
Length42:08
Label Anti-
Producer
DeVotchKa chronology
Curse Your Little Heart
(2006)
A Mad & Faithful Telling
(2008)
I Love You Phillip Morris
(2009)

A Mad & Faithful Telling is the fifth studio album from the American band DeVotchKa. It was released by Anti- on March 18, 2008. The band's largest tour to date, in support of the album, began on April 26, 2008 at the music festival Coachella. [1]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 78/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Robert Christgau B− [4]
Kevchino9/10 [5]
Music EmissionsStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]
Pitchfork 7.7/10 [7]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Tiny Mix Tapes Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [9]

On the review aggregator Metacritic, A Mad & Faithful Telling has a score of 78 out of 100 based on 22 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. [2]

Todd Lavoie of the San Francisco Bay Guardian noted that "A Mad and Faithful Telling throbs and buzzes like a breathless raconteur, its 42 minutes brimming with sentimentality and spectacle", [10] and included the album in his top 10 for 2008. [11] Writing for The Austin Chronicle , Austin Powell said the album "unsheathes a musical realm without boundaries", giving it four out of five stars, [12] whereas Melanie Haupt ranked it ninth on her "National Top 10" list. [13] Joe Tangari of Pitchfork ranked it 12th on his top 25 albums of 2008. [14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nick Urata and DeVotchKa.

No.TitleLength
1."Basso Profundo"5:14
2."Along the Way"4:01
3."The Clockwise Witness"4:37
4."Head Honcho"3:45
5."Comrade Z"2:24
6."Transliterator"4:31
7."Blessing in Disguise"5:49
8."Undone"5:03
9."Strizzalo"1:30
10."New World"5:14
Total length:42:08
iTunes bonus track [15]
No.TitleLength
11."Undone" (with the Hagerman Quartet)4:33

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2008)Peak
position
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [16] 26
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [17] 9
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [18] 29
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard) [19] 10

References

  1. ↑ "DeVotchKa Announce Spring Mad and Faithful North American Tour". Anti-. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "A Mad & Faithful Telling by Devotchka". Metacritic . Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  3. ↑ Leahey, Andrew. "A Mad and Faithful Telling Review". AllMusic . Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: DeVotchKa". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  5. ↑ Brown, Hannis. "DeVotchKa: A Mad & Faithful Telling: Kevchino Review". Kevchino. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  6. ↑ Younes, Gabe (June 23, 2008). "Devotchka - A Mad And Faithful Telling Review". Music Emissions. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  7. ↑ Bowers, William (March 19, 2008). "DeVotchKa: A Mad & Faithful Telling: Pitchfork Record Review". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  8. ↑ Hermes, Will (May 1, 2008). "A Mad And Faithful Telling : DeVotchKa : Review". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  9. ↑ Holmes, Filmore Mescalito (March 27, 2008). "Tiny Mix Tapes Reviews: DeVotchKa - A Mad & Faithful Telling". Tiny Mix Tapes . Archived from the original on April 1, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  10. ↑ Lavoie, Todd (March 26 – April 1, 2008). "DEVOTCHKA A Mad and Faithful Telling". San Francisco Bay Guardian . Vol. 42, no. 26. p. 30. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  11. ↑ Lavoie, Todd (December 17–23, 2008). "Todd Lavoie's Top 10". San Francisco Bay Guardian . Vol. 43, no. 12. p. 26. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  12. ↑ Powell, Austin (March 14, 2008). "DEVOTCHKA A Mad & Faithful Telling (Anti-)". The Austin Chronicle . Vol. 27, no. 28. SXSW Music Fest Insert, p. 36. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  13. ↑ "National Top 10s". The Austin Chronicle . Vol. 28, no. 18. January 2, 2009. p. 52. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  14. ↑ "2008 Albums of the Year: Individual Lists". Pitchfork . December 19, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  15. ↑ "A Mad and Faithful Telling (Bonus Track Version) by DeVotchKa". iTunes. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  17. ↑ "DeVotchKa Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  18. ↑ "DeVotchKa Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  19. ↑ "DeVotchKa Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2025.