Chicago’s Dehd have had a busy year. They released their debut full-length, Water, on Fire Talk Records back in May, an album we described as “a strangely congruent combination of hazy surf and lovelorn cowboy gloom, with the added bubblegum snap of 60s pop and the stale beer smell of shadowy dive bars.” Since then they have hit the road with Twin Peaks, first in the US and now in Europe (more on which later).
Amidst all that action, the trio have somehow found the time to record and release a brand new single. Titled ‘Letter’, the song represents another evolution from a band who are nothing if not unpredictable. But thematically it will be familiar to anyone who enjoyed Water, following in that record’s footsteps in focusing on the relationship between joint vocalists Jason Balla and Emily Kempf. The band say it explores the “subtle lingering grief and the arc of healing that follows once love has lost and relationship dynamics have shifted.”
In true Dehd fashion, rather than fixate on the loss and grief of the breakup, ‘Letter’ chooses to take a more hopeful route. Kempf says it celebrates “the empowerment and strength found from non-sexual friendship, from creative pursuits, and from constant, unapologetic self care, self soothing, and acts of self love.” It exudes that feeling of self-confidence too musically too. In fact it feels like something of a throwback, beginning in stark, emotive synths before blooming into a dramatic, wide-screen pop song that almost feels like a lost 80s dancefloor hit. As always, the driving force is Eric McGrady’s drums, alternating between big deep kick drum and tempo-maintaining slaps.
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You can get ‘Letter’ from the Dehd Bandcamp page. And about that UK tour… Check the dates below and get yourself along to a show!
18/10 – Leeds @ Brudenell Social Club *
19/10 – Oxford @ Ritual Union *
20/10 – Cardiff @ SWN Festival
22/10 – London @ Rough Trade East (In Store)
23/10 – Brighton @ The Prince Albert
* w/ Twin Peaks