Dehd – Control
Chicago’s Dehd has carved out a particular niche for themselves
with their male/female vocal jumps, distinct guitar tones, and unnatural knack
for melody. Their 2019 breakout, Water is a great little piece of
alt-rock, even if in retrospect it reads like a warm-up to the unsung miracle of
2020’s Flower of Devotion. That record, did a much better job at
balancing all of Dehd’s elements, highlighting the guitar and vocals and removing
the charm of its lo-fi predecessors. It was a canny move for the band, and one
that worked because the tracks were just that much better, the kind of unwieldy
accomplishment that can define a career. As a follow-up, Dehd has smartly
switched it up, although maybe not enough as they could have.
Specifically on the lead-off track, “Control”, a song that
gives Jason Balla a chance to flex his Sam France croon and strip off most of
the instrumentation, but which relies a little too much on follow-up “Bad Love”
to provide its closure. At that point, the guitar eventually comes through on
the album, albeit in muted form, with a newer more consistent focus on Eric
McGrady’s drum work. Those changes give the album a less jubilant energy, but
one that matches the tone and themes of the record.
As opposed to a title like “Flower of Devotion”, “Control” yields
a more nuanced understanding of love, and on most of these songs, the band opts
for self-determination over chasing relationships. That gives the band more
room for their songwriting and thus slows things down to better drive that
point. It’s easy to forget just how well Dehd can sell a down-tempo track like “Palomino”
and even easier to forget that those songs often work better than the singles. Even
though the band is often restraining their yelping and the freneticism of their
guitar leads, they’ve done that all plenty of times before. Control
gives Dehd room to deepen their sets and expand their sound but most importantly
lays the groundwork for an even better and more lush album that could follow.
~8
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