#emily kempf

[nofatclips]

Letter by DEHD out on @firetalk - director/editor: Ryan Hart

[thebowerypresents]

DEHD – Brooklyn Steel – October 20, 2024

DEHD were back in Brooklyn on Sunday, the Chicago trio making the weekend last just a little bit longer, playing from their fifth studio album, the spare but energetic Poetry, at Brooklyn Steel.

Photos courtesy of Adela Loconte | www.adelaloconte.com

[karmaalwayswins]

Dehd perform a live set on KEXP in 2022.

Video Credit: KEXP

[tomi4i]

50+ Israel lies in 5 weeks

No 40 dead babies

No baked babies

No beheaded babies

No children in cages

No eyes gouged

No raped women

No ripped breasts

No paraded captives

No tortured captives

No mutilating dead bodies

No pregnant women cut open

No mass rapes with broken pelvises

No Israel did not found Shifa hospital

No Biden did not see pictures of dead babies

No October 7 was not “unprovoked”

No Pro-Palestine are not “pro-Hamas” rallies

No 8 yr old Emily Hand was not found dead

No “Global Day of Jihad”

No planned cyanide attacks

No all-female Israeli unit killing 100 Hamas

No Hamas coming thru US border

No Hamas headquarters under hospitals

No Hamas hostages in hospital basements

No Hamas tunnels under Rantisi hospital

No Hamas tunnels under Shaikh Hamad Hospital

No Hamas charter published in 2017 is anti-Zionist, not anti-Jewish

No small blasts do not prove Israel did not bomb Baptist hospital

No “misfired” rocket was destroyed by Iron Dome before the Baptist hospital bombing

No “misfired” rocket can’t be both fired from cemetery and southwest of Baptist hospital

No “misfired” rocket trajectory does not align with IDF version of events at Baptist hospital

Exposed crisis actor Eli Beer

Fake baby crib photo

Fake blood splatter photo

Fake booby-trapped school bags

Fake Al Jazeera journalist twitter account

Fake audio tapes released by IDF

Fake AI-generated images of Hamas leaders

Fake “official Al Qaeda material” on dead Hamas fighters

Fake antisemitism controversy over Greta’s toy octopus

Fake antisemitism allegations on Palestine campus activists

False grandstanding evacuation orders

False subtitles for Palestine protest chants

Fake Mein Kempf book in Gaza children living rooms

Fake ‘terrorist shift list’ by mistranslating an Arabic calendar

False labeled a Gaza 4-year-old toddler martyred in airstrike as a doll

False crisis actor accusation by using old pictures of West Bank raid survivor

False crisis actor accusation by using old pictures of Thai children in ghost costumes

False crisis actor accusation by using old pictures of Al-Azhar university students protesting

Yes, many Israeli civilians were killed by crossfire at festival

Yes, many Israeli civilians were killed by Israeli tanks/helicopters at kibbutz

Yes, many Israeli civilians said Hamas was kind to them during attacks and as captives

Yes, Israel exaggerated its death toll for October 7

[groovesnjams]

"Mood Ring" by Dehd

MG:

For reasons that are honestly too complicated and personal to explain clearly to anyone else, I've always kind of hated Dehd? It has to do with Chicago and growing up when I did but that's about as much as I can confidently articulate. Anyway, "Mood Ring" has blown me clean away! The psychotic derangement that underpins the effort is nothing less than Lynchian, the sort of song you expect to burst through the speakers after Dennis Hopper shouts "Pabst! Blue! Ribbon!" The interplay between lead singer Emily Kempf and bandmate Jason Balla is like mashing up "Wild Thing" with "Then He Kissed Me" -- both feral and doll-like. It seems made for causing trouble, or, at the very least, a little self-destruction. File it under "I changed my mind."

DV:

I have always been very "have I heard a Dehd song before?" about Dehd, and then I listen to one, and then I forget it almost instantly. This one sticks! Emily Kempf's clarion delivery of the hook helps a lot, demanding attention and never letting it go, as does Balla's comically mismatched contribution, a classic and still-workable approach to the duet that honestly more bands should try out. And it sure doesn't hurt that the song is basically all hook, or that it's over before it wears out its welcome. There's not a whole lot to "Mood Ring"; the most complicated thing here might be the titular jewelry itself, and the idea that the singer needs to look at it to confirm she really is feeling what she thinks she's feeling. This is pop music: we can hear it in the guitars.

[henryjordansmith]

Emily from Dehd in b/w!!!! 2020 35mm blah blah blah

[lxnelylxnely]

[iwaseasymeat]

DEHD - Lake (live @ Union Pool 5/17/19)

[abductionradiation]

Chicago, IL -- Dehd, trio of Emily Kempf (vocals/bass), Jason Balla (vocals/guitar), and Eric McGrady (drums), will be releasing their sophomore album Flower of Devotion on July 17 via Fire Talk. This week, they shared the lead single titled “Loner”. With the song hitting just over 3 minutes long, Dehd showcases how their sound is a tad more polished this round. “Loner” hits that perfect in-between of post-punk angst and jangly indie rock, from the light strums of the guitar to the punchy vocals. 

On “Loner,” Kempf reflects on a period of self-focus and isolation, examining her self-sufficiency and how to be alone.

Connect with Dehd:

Official Site | Instagram

[yamamiya]

Dehd.

七夕。いぜんこのブログの「こころの病気」で登場した、米シカゴのメンタル女性シンガーソングライター Lillie West (リリー・ウェスト) さんのメンヘラソロプロジェクト、Lala Lala。この映画みたいなララララバンドのリリーさんとは別に、もうひとりメンバーがいる、それが今回の Emily Kempf…

[nofatclips]

Lala Lala remix of Desire by Dehd from the album Flower of Devotion Remixed, out on @firetalk

[lunapaper]

Tegan and Sara are experiencing a few growing pains… 

In their new video for ‘I Can’t Grow Up,’ the Canadian twins deliver a shivering slice of 80s New Wave while finding themselves caught in a loop, repeating the same actions over and over while confronting their romantic demons. 

Says Sara Quin (via Stereogum): 

‘[I] was musically inspired by Chicago band Dehd and their album Flower Of Devotion […] The song started on bass, an instrument I’d never written with until Crybaby, and I was channeling a little bit of Emily Kempf from Dehd, and Peter Hook from New Order. My partner had traveled back to the U.S., after a year of being stuck in Canada during the pandemic, and I was enjoying late nights alone writing music and singing full tilt in the basement.’ 

Tegan and Sara’s Crybaby is out October 21 via Mom + Pop. Read the review for their 2019 album, Hey, I’m Just Like You, here.    

- Bianca B.    

[jungleindierock]

Dehd - Flood

Andrew Miller & Emily Kempf direct the Flood video which is from new album from Dehd, Flower of Devotion, which was released on the 17th July 2020 on Fire Talk. This American indie rock trio are from Chicago, Illinois and are compriesd of Emily Kempf, Eric McGrady and Jason Balla.

[quarantineroulette]

2020 Releases that I listened to more than once / stuck with me in some way.

Excuse my pessimism, but 2020 was a year in which finding solace in music was of little use to me. I also had less time than ever to listen to music. I spent the worst of the pandemic displaced and with limited internet access, then moved to another city and switched careers, two changes which I still haven’t fully comprehended. I also spent 98% of my free time feeling too anxious about the future as a whole to do any sort of listening, focused or passive. 

Things eventually got settled enough that I could at least check out what various music publications were fussing about in their year-end round ups. Not the most ideal avenue for discovery, but this has been a hard, tiring year and, despite some very promising releases and trends, I still feel a bit hopeless. I can’t even really be bothered to do any sort of ranking or make things even with a “20 for 2020,” so instead here’s a summary of some music that stood out to me. I can promise there are at least 15 releases mentioned - you can do a “choose your own adventure”  and rank them as you wish. 

Without a doubt, the only 2020 record that truly elevated me to a place where I stopped stressing out about things was Protomartyr’s Ultimate Success Today. These guys are by far my favorite band right now and their fifth album gave me so many new reasons to love them, from the propulsive “Michigan Hammers” and its stock footage masterpiece of a music video to elegant closer “Worm in Heaven.” Saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and multi-instrumentalist Izaak Mills were deployed on most tracks and, rather than merely serving as a garnish for songs, their contributions added as much tension, heft, and brutal beauty as Protomartyr’s core members. Add in Half Waif’s Nandi Rose guesting on the Very Sad “June 21,” and you have one genuinely faultless release. In a similar vein, Algiers released their third and arguably strongest full-length, There is No Year, back in January and it served as a powerful, prescient (the title alone!) and just plain awesome reminder to keep fighting in even the darkest of times. 

This year I occasionally found myself praying for disco and I’m pretty sure Doja Cat’s sorta Chic-inspired “Say So” was the song I listened to the most in 2020 (yes, shame on me for a million different reasons). But little did I know 2020 was such an abundant year for mirrorball-indebted releases. Kylie Minogue’s Disco was a given, but what especially thrilled me were Roisin Murphy’s Roisin Machine and Jessie Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure? Murphy’s outstanding “Murphy’s Law” especially sounds like a lost classic from the ‘70s, while Ware’s titular “What’s Your Pleasure” is as fitting a Donna Summer tribute as any you could come across in the past 40 or so years. Ware’s record became slightly less cool when I realized she’s a podcasting mom who is friends with Adele, but What’s Your Pleasure?’s irresistible procession of Great Pop Moments solidifies it as one release I’ll keep coming back to. 

(Bonus: if you favor a no-wave / post-punk spin on disco, then look no further than Public Practice’s Gentle Grip). 

Ware and Murphy have been particularly prevalent on many of the major year-end lists, but I still carry a bit of skepticism about such things. Therefore, discussions such as this sub-Reddit (sorry) thread on regional picks has been useful in thinking outside the US and UK-favoring ranking systems (although there’s still a lot of anglo shit listed there as well). I’m hoping to listen to more releases from oft-overlooked countries thanks to some of these Redditors’ suggestions, although I’ve already spent a bit of time with Einsturzende Neubauten’s Alles in Allem and remain Team Blixa (if such a team exists). Despite my aforementioned trepidation, The Quietus’  list did compel me to check out the wonderfully somber offerings of Closed Circuits. This Portuguese artist describes himself as “Leonard Cohen being bothered by Coil,” and if that doesn’t entice you, I fear you may be a lost cause.  

This year we moved to Philadelphia, which means...A lot of things, but relevant to this summary, we found ourselves driving past some provocative graffiti stating “Make America Nothing Again” numerous times. Eventually I put two and two together and gave Nothing’s The Great Dismal a listen. Having not expected much beyond the clever marketing, I was pleasantly wowed by the quartet’s moody post-shoegaze offerings. I can barely discern any of the lyrics, but on vibe alone, The Great Dismal perfectly captures the heavy despair that permeated 2020. Add in Korine’s gloom-pop The Night We Raise and I can confidently say that Philly’s music scene is in good hands. 

I might have lied a bit at the start of this post - in saying I didn’t listen to music throughout 98% of the pandemic, I’m overlooking the many car rides spent revisiting Fontaines D.C.’s brilliant 2019 debut, Dogrel. While it didn’t impress me quite as much, this year’s A Hero’s Death was a mostly worthy successor, interspersing a few tranquil moments among the band’s more confrontational offerings. Not all of those moments worked for me, but these new directions were enticing enough for me to officially consider Fontaines a Band To Watch, if that’s still something people say. Oh yeah, and the video for the title tune slams. 

Speaking of music videos, I don’t usually rely on this medium for discovering bands, but that changed this year with Dehd. The trio’s videos are vibrant, conceptually clever, and relentlessly fun. Thank goodness that the music lives up to Dehd’s visual knack, with Flower of Devotion at times recalling The Jesus and Mary Chain and Roy Orbison in equal measure (especially on the stunning “Letter”). Emily Kempf’s versatile singing reminds me of everyone from Jana Hunter of Lower Dens to Carla Bozulich of The Geraldine Fibbers, yet it’s still bracing enough that every word she sings sounds utterly gripping. Who knows when gigs will happen again, but Flower of Devotion rocketed these folks to the top of my post-Covid gigging wishlist.  

Sparks is one act I can happily say I’ve seen numerous times. They are never ones to disappoint but, nearly 40 years into their career, the Mael brothers owe us nothing. Yet A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is somehow an instant classic. It’s nothing short of astonishing that, at 75, Ron Mael can crank out a song that is equal parts insanely catchy, effortlessly humorous and deceptively sad, but he yet again nailed this trifecta with “Lawnmower,” to name but one. Russell Mael’s invincible vocals are in full effect throughout, particularly on the straight up lovely “Pacific Standard Time.” I would never even entertain the idea of using the term “pop / rock juggernaut,” but if it was regarding Sparks, I would at least not dispute it. 

(PS, special shout out to another singular duo of relatives, Prima Primo, who this year released my favorite song about Madonna since Sparks’ very own Madge tune, featured on 1988′s Interior Design.)

Finally, this list would absolutely be incomplete if I didn’t give mention to Bob Dylan’s fabulous Rough and Rowdy Ways. More than ever, 2020 felt like a year rife with stupid decisions, stupid actions and praise for mediocrity. A return to form from perhaps the greatest lyricist of all time is something many of us probably didn’t know we needed, but boy am I thankful for it (not as thankful as I would be for a second stimulus check, but still - next best thing). Dylan also gave us the fun bonus of having Fiona Apple guest on the outstanding “Murder Most Foul,” and of course Apple’s own Fetch the Bolt Cutters both featured her dogs as percussion and further solidified her place in the socio-political songwriting canon. Maybe there is something to be said for music after all!  

[thesearenotphotographs]

Fire Talk Records 10th Anniversary Show at Baby's All Right

On Thursday, September 5, 2019, Fire Talk Records celebrated their 10th anniversary with two shows in Chicago, IL and Brooklyn, NY. The Brooklyn show featured performances by Dehd, Deeper, Patio, and Media Jeweler.

I documented the performances by all four bands for the label and more images are now available on their Facebook page here.

[for3mma]

Lately- Dehd