Dehd - Flower of Devotion [Mint Green Vinyl, Printed Inner Sleeve, Limited Ed]

FIRE TALK RECORDS

£25.90

Cat. no: LPFTK165C
Format: LP Mint Green Vinyl, Printed Inner Sleeve, Limited Ed
Barcode: 634457191600
Release Date: 15 Nov 2024
Genre: Rock

"I want nothing more than to be a loner," Emily Kempf sings early on Flower of Devotion, the new album by Chicago trio Dehd

It's a startling admission coming from a songwriter who, just a year ago on Dehd's critically acclaimed Water, wrote eloquently about the joys and pains -- more than anything, the necessity -- of love, compassion, and companionship. But then, "admission" isn't really the right word here, given the stridency of Kempf's tone. "Loner" is a declaration. The record ups the ante on Dehd's sound & flters in just enough polish to bring out the shining and melancholy undertones in Jason Balla and Emily Kempf's songwriting, even as it captures them at their most strident. Balla's guitar lines at times firt with ticklish cosmic country, while at others they refect the dark marble sounds of Broadcast. Kempf, meanwhile, establishes herself as a singer of incredible expressive range, pinching into a high lonesome wail, letting loose a chirping "ooh!," pushing her voice below its breaking point and letting it swing down there. When she and Balla bounce descending counter-melodies off one another over McGrady's one-two thumps, or skitter off over a programmed drum pad, they sound like The B-52s shaking off heartache.

Tracks: Desire / Loner / Haha / Drip Drop / Month / Disappear / Flood / Letter / Nobody / No Time / Moonlight / Apart / Flying