Accordion a Downer?

I love the way writers describe the accordion and the music it produces. Usually it goes something like this: "Accordions are only good for polkas your grandpa likes." But this squeezebox-centric essay -- a review of Richard Galliano's Luz Negra by All About Jazz scribe Chris May -- starts out different:

"A little accordion can go a long way. The instrument's blowsy, wheezing sound, perfectly fashioned to express sadness and tears, can quickly become a downer, and it takes a player with unusual gifts to transcend all that."

Yeah. Unusual gifts like a distortion pedal and a wah-wah.