BY DOT SMITH
Many people have heard of “Little Miss Sunshine.” Far less have experienced the unfiltered brilliance that is its music. Boasting pieces from Sufjan Stevens and Rick James, this film’s soundtrack is heavily inspired by indie-folk and rock in the best way possible. However, what truly stands out is the original score, composed mostly by Tony Tisdale, Mychael Danna and DeVotchKa.
Out of the three contributors to the score, the one that has the most impact on the tone of the soundtrack is DeVotchKa. DeVotchKa is a very genre-flexible but folk centered ensemble consisting of Nick Urata, Tom Hagerman, Jeanie Schroder, and Shawn King. When listening to their 2004 album “How It Ends”, you can really hear the influences from the band. Especially in two songs.
“The Enemy Guns” and “How It Ends” both will sound familiar to anyone who has listened to the “Little Miss Sunshine” soundtrack. That is because the instrumentals for those pieces were used for the score. The opening song, “The Winner Is…” is the instrumental for “How It Ends” while “First Push” is the instrumental for “The Enemy Guns”.
In fact, that’s how I found “How It Ends” (The album, not the song). And I couldn’t be more grateful. This album is chock-full of amazing compositions that range from somber and a bit sad to upbeat pieces that make you just want to run.
While I think every song on this album deserves to be praised, there are four songs that I think are exceptionally wonderful. Even if you don’t listen to the entire thing, you should at the very least listen to these.
- You Love Me is a slow, ballad style guitar piece. The only instrument that this song features is an acoustic guitar backing the Urata, the lead singer. There’s something beautiful about this simplicity, at least compared to the other tracks on the album. It’s the sort of beauty you get when you’re sitting around a campfire during a summer camp, staring up at the stars and just appreciating life.
- Twenty-Six Temptations is the first piece in the album to feature some relatively non-traditional instruments. It features a sousaphone, violin, and a drum set that heavily utilizes the cymbals. This song keeps an upbeat tempo for the bass line, which makes the elegant smooth vocals all the more impressive. Urata, exemplified especially here, is really able to make his voice match the prominent instrument in a piece as he lets his voice slide gracefully between notes to match the violin.
- How It Ends is the song on this album that you’re most likely to have heard. It’s easily their most popular piece, which is made very clear based on the fact that it has more than 3 times as many listens than every single other song on the album combined. And for good reason. This song has an amazing build-up that takes a while to get to the point, but my god is it worth it. This song is sad, beautiful, and nostalgic all at once.
- Such a Lovely Thing is such an odd experience. When I first listened to this album, it gave me whiplash. This is one of those songs that you should go into knowing absolutely nothing. It is fun, whimsical, upbeat, and so many other things all at once. I don’t think there’s really any other way to describe it as circus clown meets “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.”
The album has many inspirations, ranging from anywhere between spaghetti westerns and cabaret folk. Due to these varied inspirations, the album switches between genres quite a bit. One minute you’re listening to something that could be straight out of “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and the next you’re listening to a waltz.
For the most part, this variety is fun. It can be jarring, but the album is able to utilize transitions between songs expertly. They ease you into the next song so you don’t get musical whiplash, but also keep you on your toes. Throughout the hour and thirteen minutes of music, you’re never bored.
This album has a special place in my heart, probably being one of my top 5 albums of all time. Which is why I was so thrilled to hear that it got re-mastered earlier this year. The joy I felt when I saw that I could listen to this album in a higher quality and get to listen to amazing live versions is something that I haven’t felt in a while.
If you get a chance, listen to this album. It’s everything that is beautiful about music compacted into an hour and fifteen minutes. I promise you won’t regret it.