Three piece Chicago based rock band Dehd share their latest album, Blue Skies, out via Fat Possum. The 13-song LP is a subtle rumble that erupts into a beautiful barrage of lightning and thunder. With a controlled, but palpable energy, Dehd strike a perfect contrast between ethereal and dreamy and upbeat punk. Don’t miss Dehd when they return to Los Angeles with a headline show at the Belasco in Downtown LA on Oct. 5.
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With mostly bite sized songs on the album — only a few pass the 3-minute mark and many are just barely over two minutes — Dehd’s tunes create little sparks of light that flair up before burning out; the darkness replaced by another bright and glaring track until you’ve suddenly reached the end.
On a whole, Blue Skies is an interesting, texture rich album that pierces straight through the flesh and into the soul. It’s hopeful, edgy, straight forward, aloof and builds with a confident and potent delivery. With fingerprints of rock, country, punk, dream pop and more all over the album, Dehd’s musical fluidity make for an enticing and encompassing listen.
Representative of the album’s spirit and tenacity, Dehd’s latest single, “Window,” is a layered, atmospheric slow burning tune with echoey vocals and distorted guitar riffs. Metaphoric and deep, the lyrics evoke a sense of questioning and a longing to transcend the mundane and find a truly perfect and all consuming love.
“[“Window” is about] being obsessed with true love and the construct of ‘the one,’” notes bandmate Emily Kempf. “I wrote it to address my addition to the terrible and wonderful pursuit of perfect love.”
The music video for “Window” was video directed by Kevin Veselka and Kempf and features a gorgeous and cryptic choreography and searing close ups of the dancers, all clad in white.
Dehd are Eric McGrady (vocals, drums), Jason Balla (vocals, guitar) and Emily Kempf (vocals, bass guitar). In addition to their new album, the band has just embarked on a summer and fall tour with tour dates along the California coast including: Oct. 5 in Los Angeles at the Belasco Theater; Oct. 6 in San Diego at the Observatory North Park; and Oct. 2 in San Francisco at the August Hall.
Words: Patti Sanchez
For more on Dehd, make sure to visit their website and follow them on Instagram.
DEHD TOUR DATES
Tue. May 24 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom ! – SOLD OUT
Wed. May 25 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom ! – SOLD OUT
Thu. May 26 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall !
Fri. May 27 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
Sat. May 28 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’sPalace
Sat. Jun. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Metro * – SOLD OUT
Sat. Jun. 11 – New York, NY @ Governor’s Ball Music Festival
Sat. Jul. 9 – Chicago, IL @ Square Roots Festival
Sun. Aug. 21 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
Mon. Aug. 22 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown
Wed. Aug. 24 – Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli De Helling
Fri. Aug. 26 – London, UK @ All Points East
Sun. Aug. 28 – Edinburgh, UK @ Connect Festival
Sat. Aug. 30 – Birmingham, UK @ The Castle & Falcon
Sun. Aug. 31 – Cambridge, UK @ Junction 2
Fri. Sep. 2 – Wiltshire, UK @ End of the Road Festival
Thu. Sep. 4 – Maastricht, NL @ Bruis Festival
Wed. Sep. 21 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
Thu. Sep. 22 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Fri. Sep. 23 – Denver, CO @ The Summit
Sat. Sep. 24 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
Tue. Sep. 27 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Wed. Sep. 28 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Fri. Sep. 30 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
Sat. Oct. 2 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
Wed. Oct. 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco Theater
Thu. Oct. 6 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
Fri. Oct. 7 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theater
Sat. Oct. 9 – Austin, TX @ ACL Fest
Wed. Oct. 12 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
Thu. Oct. 13 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Sun. Oct. 16 – Austin, TX @ ACL Fest
Fri. Oct. 21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Sat. Oct. 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
Sun. Oct. 23 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Tue. Oct. 25 – Boston, MA @ Royale
Wed. Oct. 26 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
Thu. Oct. 27 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Wed. Nov. 2 – Milan, IT @ Magnolia
Thu. Nov. 3 – Aaru, CH @ Kiff
Mon. Nov. 7 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
Tue. Nov. 8 – Stockholm, SE @ Kristallen
Wed. Nov. 9 – Oslo, NE @ John Dee
Fri. Nov. 11 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
Sat. Nov. 12 – Brussels, BE @ Grand Salon
Wed. Nov. 16 – Bristol, UK @ The Lanes
Thu. Nov. 17 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Fri. Nov. 18 – Sunderland, UK @ Pop Recs
Sat. Nov. 19 – Glasgow, UK @ Oran Mor
Sun. Nov. 20 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
* w/ Pixel Grip
! w/ 81355
