New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, rapper, singer, writer, monologist, and all-around creative polymath Dessa has released "Decoy", the latest preview of her forthcoming album 'Bury The Lede' (out
September 29th via Doomtree Records). Recorded with longtime collaborators and executive producers Lazerbeak (Doomtree, Lizzo) and Andy Thompson (Taylor Swift, Dan Wilson), "Decoy" follows the release of lead singles "Hurricane Party" b/w "Chopper" and is also accompanied by a stunning music video directed by Oscar-winning animator Adam Dunn.
On this new, rap-forward single, Lazerbeak's vibey, propulsive production supports some of Dessa's cleverest bars: "Not a sidepiece or a wifepiece / I'm a thinkpiece / if you're done then / take your dishes to the sink please." As she flexes on patterns and wordplay, the entendres double (and maybe sometimes triple?). And on this record, it's clear that she's having fun doing it, "I'm like the good witch / bring the motherfucking house down."
In the "Decoy" video, also out today, Dessa and director/VFX animator Adam Dunn (part of the visuals team behind Spiderman: Into The Spider-Verse's "Best Animated Feature" Oscar win) leaned into the song's sense of nonstop forward motion. Dessa says, "The video for 'Decoy' was filmed on a single camera in the basement of director Adam Dunn's house. He set up a treadmill in front of a green screen; I brought a dinner plate and my hair dryer for props. Adam is a master of video effects and I--if I may boast for a moment--did not fall down even once during filming."
Shot on a Blackmagic URSA 12K camera, the video follows Dessa (in an appropriately utilitarian workman's jumpsuit) walking towards the camera against a morphing montage of stunning animated backdrops—a glowing technicolor cityscape, a stream of Tron-blue laserlights, an amethyst mountain range. Juxtaposing Dunn's hyper-vivid pop imagery with Dessa's locked, piercing gaze, the "Decoy" visuals impart something of those classic
Frida Kahlo self-portraits-ferocious, frank, but framed with flowers.
Dessa will be taking 'Bury The Lede' on tour this fall alongside bandmates Joshua Holmgren (sax, vox) and Aviva Jaye (vox, harp). Sponsored by award-winning and Minneapolis-based hair care company Odele, the tour sees Dessa playing in major markets like Boston, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles in addition to a homecoming performance in Minneapolis at First Avenue.
In reference to a lyric from her recent single "Chopper" (Visine, cab fare, dry shampoo I'll take another like déjà—you), Odele Dry Shampoo ($11.99 value) will be gifted, first come, first served, to fans who stop by the merch booth on the Bury the Lede Tour. (Odele Dry Shampoo was also included as part of the limited-edition 'Bury The Lede' collector's package, which has since sold out. Additional 'Bury The Lede' pre-order bundles are available now.)
More on Dessa and her tour routing below.
Dessa Tour Dates:
10.2 Ft. Collins - The Armory
10.4 Denver - Ophelia's
10.5 Seattle - Crocodile
10.7 Portland - Polaris Hall
10.17
Boston - Middle East
10.19 Philadelphia - World Cafe Live
10.20 NYC - Le Poisson Rouge
10.21 DC -
Black Cat
11.14 - Eau Claire -
Pablo Center
11.16 - Minneapolis - First Avenue
11.17 - Rochester - Chateau Theatre
11.18
Chicago - Bottom Lounge
11.19 Madison - Majestic Theatre
1.16 San
Diego - Casbah
1.18 Los Angeles - Lodge Room
1.19
Santa Ana - Constellation Room
1.20 Pioneertown - Pappy & Harriet's
1.21 San Francisco - The Independent
Dessa fell in love with language as a toddler---and she just never got over it. Coming up in Minneapolis, she collected favorite words to decorate the walls of her brain; as teenager, she thrilled in metaphor; and when she started writing songs and touring, she'd always lean in to pick up on the regional slang (they say yinz instead of y'all in Pittsburgh; a beanie is a tuque in Canada; gotta ask for a lead to get mic cable in the UK). Now, Dessa works in most fields that traffic in words: she's recorded rap bangers as part of the fiercely independent Doomtree collective, released a live album with the Grammy-winning Minnesota Orchestra; contributed to the New York Times and
National Geographic Traveler; delivered a TED Talk on the intersection of romance and neuroscience that's notched more than 4 million views; hosted two seasons of the Deeply Human radio program (BBC/American Public Media/iHeartMedia); and published a memoir recounting most of the above called My Own Devices, published by Dutton (Penguin
Random House). She lives in Minneapolis and Manhattan, still tours in a rented van, and is probably eavesdropping on the neighboring table, listening for a word to add to the collection.
