Blue Skies

Chicago trio Dehd made significant leaps forward with each new record, moving from reverb-shrouded surf punk beginnings to a more in-focus presentation on 2019s Water, and then on to even more sophisticated moods, sounds, and arrangements on 2020 breakthrough Flower of Devotion. Without losing any of their striking simplicity, the band step their sound up even further on fourth album Blue Skies. Where Flower of Devotion found balance between the Dehds minimalistic hooks and emotional expressiveness, Blue Skies heightens each, with bolder lyrical statements of hope, struggle, and perseverance, and some of the groups most instantly catchy material to date. They double down on the experimentation with electronics that began on their last album, adding a wide spectrum of synth textures and analog drum machine sounds to their bare-bones instrumentation. Songs like the driving anthem "Bad Love" and "Empty in My Mind" are some of the best examples of this particular element of their evolution, with gentle synth bedding adding atmosphere as drummer Eric McGrady plays booming, dramatic tom accents over steady electronic beats. Vocalist/bassist Emily Kempfs powerful croon reaches even further, experimenting with bouncing melodies on "Window" as she reflects on pushing through difficult times with a sharper lens than on previous albums. Kempf and guitarist/vocalist Jason Ballas harmonizing is also on a new level throughout Blue Skies. Moments of "Clear" find the duo locked in with electrifying precision, bringing out the theatrical element thats a key component to the bands sound. While generalized themes of heartache and emotional restlessness show up here and there, theres also a more vivid intentionality in the lyrical approach of many songs. Balla depicts living with the absence of departed loved ones on the twee-meets-synth pop "Memories," and emphatic closer "No Difference" explores the sometimes exhausting unpredictability of life and opts to charge forward regardless of what might be ahead. Its a triumphant closing note, and one that reinforces the journey of heaviness, hope, and celebration that Blue Skies takes us on in a little over half an hour. Each new Dehd album has found the band peeling back another layer of obfuscation. Blue Skies elevates Dehds mysterious auras, thoughtful experimentation, and strong songwriting, but it reaches its highest levels of beauty and intensity when the bandmembers share more of their unobscured personalities. ~ Fred Thomas