A scene I have experienced: the cold, dry air sinks its teeth into every piece of skin that you submit to it. Rosy cheeks and numb ears pass by you on the street as if to make sure you don’t forget your own freezing extremities. Somewhere in this breath stealing air of Minnesota thrives the crossroads between slam poetry, hip-hop, and sentimental piano. And of course smack in the middle of the junction stands one woman – Dessa.
Minneapolis’ de facto Athena in the realm of feminism and general intelligence, Dessa (of Doomtree) has just embarked on her most recent stint: Parts of Speech. This third album of hers is well anticipated by the Minneapolis crowd and lesser so by the rest of the States. Nonetheless, her sold out premiere show at First Avenue seems to say that she has something different to say.
Different is certainly a word apt to describe this new album. Dessa chose to blend her live band from her second album with electronic kicks and guttural bass in this new LP. The result is an overall heavier sound underneath Dessa’s verbal punches. However different it does sound, it is nothing entirely new from her. Tinkling piano usually covers the mid range whilst earworm melodies sprinkle the higher end of the sonic spectrum. The hooks that Dessa sings are also quite familiar; it seems that minor sororities are still best for her voice.
In fact, if there is one thing that really makes this album stand out it’s her improvement in singing. The vocal lessons that she has been taking has amplified her already singing/rapping style into several full blown singing songs. Don’t fret though, her signature vicious bite is still there.
Dessa’s bite has been, still is, and will probably consist of cutthroat rhetoric and brutal self honesty. It’s as if she didn’t open up enough on Castor, the Twin. Lines like “Easy to please but hard to impress. / I’m in the mood: new shoes and a bulletproof dress” deliver the quintessential Dessa stamp.
Dessa’s clever and well-learned lyricism, unfortunately, is starting to show a few weak spots. Her work on “Fighting Fish” could be taken as an example. While it’s commendable that she manages to evoke Zeno’s arrow paradox into the hook of a hip-hop track, it doesn’t really give much to glue the song together. Instead of giving some multi-dimensional meaning to the song, the chorus comes off as an antiquated shout out. It’s impressive, but rather contrived.
Overall this album is something expected from Dessa. She’s back into the fray with her familiar moves. She might have gotten more deadly, but the more she stays the same the more weaknesses become apparent. But even still, her right hook is quite the force.
6.5/10
