Dehd
The Castle & Falcon
Review by George Wainwright
Dehd: resurrecting surf rock on UK shores
With lockdowns and working from home seemingly a thing of the past, the return of live music now feels like a distant memory. Following a mega summer of festivals, it’s hard to remember what a world without hazy stages and sticky floors felt like. Despite the successful re-emergence of live music in the UK, it’s taken a little while longer for the return of international acts at grassroots venues. Tonight at the Castle and Falcon however, the curtain is finally lifted on over shore entertainment. At the rear end of a multi city tour, American surf rock outfit Dehd brings a taste of the USA to Birmingham. To avoid reader confusion, I can confirm that this gig most certainly didn’t take place in Alabama.
Dehd are joined on this tour by compatriot and self-proclaimed psycho Number One Popstar. Nothing short of eccentric, Popstar presents a melodramatic mixture of comedic audience interactions interspersed with comically out of key original songs. Although she admits that she “doesn’t get British humour”, Popstar has the crowd in pockets of awkward laughter, chiding a member of the audience for looking like someone who “listens to Joe Rogan’s podcast”. The opening set concludes with an energised performance of ‘Hit Song’, a witty, tongue in cheek backlash at the landscape of the modern music industry. Without the presence of a backup band, the closing cut features two unsuspecting participants plucked from the crowd to make up for the numbers on stage. If not entirely impressed, Number One Popstar has the audience intrigued ahead of the headline act.
By way of introduction, it’d be easy to forget that Dehd are somewhat of a high-profile band with a sturdy global fan base. Despite being subject to hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners, the trio of performers take to the stage with such an airy attitude that they are mistaken for roadies at first. Guitarist Jason Balla appears to toe the line between nonchalant and nervous as he introduces the opening number, ‘Lucky’. Any hint at nerves quickly diminish as Balla produces a jangly guitar riff a la Robert Smith. Lead vocalist Emily Kempf takes precedence, swooning over an unnamed lover before promptly concluding that her relationship is at the “end of the road”.
The ensuing duo of songs are played in continuous prose without breathing space for let up between takes. Deriving from their 2020 album entitled ‘Flower Of Devotion’, ‘Month’ is a despondent take on surf rock, sounding like a downtrodden Beach Boys song. On ‘Window’ guitarist Jason Balla takes over on lead vocals, simmering with pent up angsty energy. Balla’s rough around the edges performance provides an endearing and authentic edge to a set of songs that can be at times difficult to distinguish between.
What Dehd lacks in artistic variety, they make up for by cracking the pre-existing formula. Fan favourite tracks such as ‘Loner’ adorn the set-list, a standout song for Kempf’s yodelling vocals and Balla’s scratchy instrumentation. They may be thousands of miles from their home state, but the three piece perfectly capture the essence of a teen band playing in their parent’s garage past curfew. Although their laidback stage presence might say otherwise, the band works tirelessly to account for sparse numbers amongst their ranks. Balla switches furiously between lead and rhythmic duties whilst Kempf performs a dual role on bass guitar and vocals. Drummer Eric McGrady hunches over his kit at the back of the stage, relentlessly laying down industrial style beats.
In a fleeting interaction with the audience, Kempf inquires about the skating ability of those in attendance. She takes the deafening silence in response to her question – “do any of you even skate?” – as somewhat of a personal insult, recalling how she favours the crowds back in the US. The following song is an ode to Kempf’s childhood skate heroes, an apparently unfamiliar topic for most in the room. Some of the songs present cultural themes that may feel inaccessible to UK audiences. As such, a portion of Dehd’s identity becomes lost in translation during their show. This being said, music remains a universal language; Dehd are an enjoyable live band irrespective of one’s ability to perform a kick flip on a skateboard.
Kempf rattles through the remainder of the set, culminating in an intricately laid out performance of ‘Flying’. The closer is bathed in silky reverb laced between a powerful, hard-hitting chorus. “To love you is a bit unfair” rounds off Kempf, the cap atop a short but sweet 40-minute set-list. With the post Covid exodus of American bands such as Dehd under way, surf rock is back on British shores. Surfin’ USA is well and truly here to stay.