Chicago's Dehd are absolute masters of that newfangled punk that is infused with a ton of pop hooks without being even remotely pop punk. Their latest single, "Window," is this song that slowly builds into an absolute epic. It starts off slow and just builds and builds with all the power of a band like Pulp or U2, but a lower scale punk pop version. It's as catchy as possible without being too saccharine, and even had more than just a hint of an edge. And it does all this while remaining mostly a ballad. Dehd are the kind of band that are going to be huge by this time next year.
Emily Kempf says the new song is about "... “being obsessed with true love and the construct of ‘the one.’ I wrote it to address my addition to the terrible and wonderful pursuit of perfect love.”
You can watch the NSFW-ish video for "Window" below. Blue Skies is due out May 27 on Fat Possum. You can pre-save/pre-order the album here. For more on Dehd, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
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
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
One of my favorite things is going to see a diverse live bill. Anyone can put together a show with three pop punk bands on it, but it's a challenge (and far more interesting) to put three unique bands on the same show and have it work out perfectly. Saturday night at The Sinclair saw the steamcrunk of Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys, doombrass heroes Eight Foot Manchild, and the baroque pop of Lovina Falls, and it was perfect. Opening the show was Lovina Falls, the current musical project of Valerie Forgione of Mistle Thrush. This was my third or fourth time seeing them in just a few months, and I'm still entertained every time. It's been interesting to watch Lovina Falls adjust and discover their sound over the past two or so years, and I think they've nailed their current sound down. It's an engaging blend of the baroque pop they started out with mixed with a more rock based sound. Songs like "Ellery Way" and "Vaulted" continue to ...
