Dehd "Flower of Devotion" [Limited Color Vinyl]

The record ups the ante on Dehd's sound & filters in just enough polish to bring out the shin­ing and melancholy undertones in Jason Balla and Emily Kempf's songwriting, even as it cap­tures them at their most strident. Balla's guitar lines at times flirt with ticklish cosmic country, while at others they reflect the dark marble sounds of Broadcast. Kempf, meanwhile, estab­lishes herself as a singer of incredible expressive range, pinching into a high lonesome wail, letting loose a chirping "ooh!," pushing her voice below its breaking point and letting it swing down there. When she and Balla bounce descending counter-melodies off one another over McGrady's one-two thumps, or skitter off over a programmed drum pad, they sound like The B-52s shaking off heartache.