Chicago band Dehd have announced their third full-length album Blue Skies (out May 27 via Fat Possum), as well as a North American tour, and have provided a hint at what we can expect from both with lead single “Bad Love.” The group is celebrating Valentine’s Day with a video for the track, which was co-directed by vocalist Emily Kempf and Kevin Veselka.
The album, which follows their critically acclaimed debut Flowers of Devotion and its companion remix project, marks a new chapter for Dehd, enlisting mixing engineer Craig Silvey (The Rolling Stones, The National, Arcade Fire) and Heba Kadry (Slowdive, Bjork, Cate Le Bon) to bring the band’s bolder, more ambitious vision to life.
“Bad Love,” for its part, is a musical sugar rush, daring its subject to run away with Kempf now that she’s changed her ways; “I was a bad love / Now I can get some / I got a heart full of redemption,” she sings to open the song. From its softer, synth-tinged opening to its more straightforward jangly middle section filled with echoing back vocals urging anyone listening to run, run, run to the finish, the track is a fitting introduction to Dehd’s latest incarnation.
The band have also announced a North American tour to promote the record, which will kick off in Denver at the beginning of May and wrap up in Chicago at the beginning of June. The tour will be bookended by festival shows at Shaky Knees in Atlanta and Governors Ball in New York. You can find a full list of dates and tickets here.
Check out the video for “Bad Love” below, and keep scrolling for Blue Skies’ album details and Dehd’s our dates. You can preorder Blue Skies here.
Blue Skies Tracklist:
01. Control
02. Bad Love
03. Bop
04. Clear
05. Hold
06. Memories
07. Window
08. Palomino
09. Waterfall
10. Dream On
11. Empty In My Mind
12. Stars
13. No Difference
Blue Skies Art:
Dehd Tour Dates:
April
30 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
30 – Atlanta GA @ The Masquerade (Shaky Knees Aftershow)
May
02 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
03 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
05 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
06 – Vancouver, BC @ The Imperial
07 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
09 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
11 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
13 – Austin, TX – Antones
14 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
15 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Studio
16 – New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre
18 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall
19 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
24 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
26 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
27 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
28 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
June
04 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
11 – Queens, NY @ The Governors Ball Music Festival
