New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The video for NYC-via-Minneapolis rapper, singer, and essayist Dessa's "Fire Drills" is out today, and further proves her latest album 'Chime' to be a milestone for the artist, not only raising the bar with her whip-smart delivery and poetic lyrics but also delivering her most profoundly striking videos to date. The song, which was built around an iPhone field recording that Dessa made while in Turkey, offers razor-sharp social commentary on a woman's role in the world in Dessa's unmistakable style: literary, candid, and fierce.
Praising "Fire Drills" as one of the standouts from 'Chime', the
Chicago Tribune echoes the song's sentiment, asking "Is getting through a day on the road without incident a win? Is being vigilant a job description? Is just getting by enough?" The
Boston Globe also said that it "may be the most powerful song of the year".
Of the video for "Fire Drills" (directed by Irene Kotnik), Dessa told NPR
Music that it "captures a spirit of rebellion, youth, and adventure--all of which helped fuel the writing of the song, and continue to fuel our nightly performances of it."
"Fire Drills" follows the unapologetically powerful videos for fellow 'Chime' releases "
Good Grief" (a grey, slowburning narrative exploring inner growth in the face of heartbreak) and "5 out of 6" (a nihilistic, Hitchcockian video highlighting the radical power of sensitivity), further cementing Dessa's 'Chime' era as one of diverse inspiration and eclectic expression, proving Sound Opinions claim that she is a "force of nature."
'Chime' was recently praised by NPR as one of their "40 Favorite Albums of 2018" saying that it "hangs together as a complex and boldly stated declaration." The multi-genre, masterfully written, and brutally honest album was also heralded by The A.V. Club who celebrated Dessa as "an artist who's forever striving to punch her way out from whatever box she currently finds herself in" and All Songs Considered who called it a work of "incredible gravitas and presence and humanity."
Dessa will celebrate another milestone this fall with the release of her first hardcover literary collection, 'My Own Devices: True Stories from the Road On Music, Science, and Senseless Love' (Dutton,
September 18th), which she'll follow with a US book tour in
September and a run of live music dates in the UK in November.
BOOK TOUR DATES
September 18 - New York, NY @ Strand
September 19 - Cambridge, MA @ Brattle Theatre
September 20 - St Paul, MN @ TBA
September 21 - Chicago, IL @ American Writers Museum
September 22 - Corte Madera, CA @ Book Passage
September 23 - Seattle, WA @ Third Place Books
More information can be found at https://www.dessawander.com.
UK TOUR DATES
Nov 8 - Glasgow - Stereo
Nov 9 - Leeds - Brudenell Social Club
Nov 10 - London - Dome
Nov 11 - Brighton - Patterns
Nov 12 - Bristol - Hy-Brasil
Tickets and details at https://www.doomtree.net/shows.
contact Josh Page, Rebecca Shapiro, or
Hannah Schwartz at Shore Fire Media, 718.522.7171.
