I've been a mild fan of Dehd since their first tape in 2016, the coed vocals, the minimal instrumentation and lofi recordings made for bouncey raw pop that was enjoyable listen but I wasn't totally head over heels. I am often not susceptible to hype, I tend to ignore things that are hyped, esp in "mainstream" indie. But, Dehd is one of the few bands these days that have ascended in a more "classic" way, meaning: toured their asses off, worked on the craft, evolved and remained on a smaller label. So, that leads us here, "Flower of Devotion", with higher production, more adventurous vocal performances and best songs they've written. There is something about these songs that make me think, what if a Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood collaboration was produced by Robie Guthrie in 1980s. These songs make me think of a forlored prom scene in idealized version of late 1950s. It's an interesting, but not a full pivot from their established sound, just expands it into full bloom. The guitars shimmer in a way that doesn't kill the urgency, the basslines evolve with the vocals, and drums keep it all grounded, adding/subtracting dynamics very cleverly. They make so many unexpected choices, when you first hear it, yr like does this work? Like in the second tracks tongue clicks, and by the end, yr like, "yes, i love this". Its always great to see a band with potential, fully realized their sound and do they whole writing their best tunes. I don't know, I'm just charmed by this record, its really fucking good. Its feels very DEHD, their isn't any bands that come to mind that sound similar. Very curious to see what they do next, reading some features, they reference Broadcast, Cocteau Twins and MBV....would love to hear them distill these influences into their sound more. Enjoy.
https://dehdforever.bandcamp.com/album/flower-of-devotion
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