Get all 22 Dessa releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Bury The Lede, Starter Villain, Blush, IDES, LYTP [Paper Tiger Remix], Dink a Dink [Lazerbeak remix], Who's Yellen Now?, Tyranny, and 14 more.
1. |
Hurricane Party
02:33
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Fill the kiddie pool
up with Prosecco
Get the LEDs on
need the spectacle
Gotta beat the one last week
let’s get a record
If you’re tryna be a go-getter
you gotta go and get it
Desperate times
call for desperate pleasures
Some legitimate headlines
mostly cries for attention
The camera speeds
copy ready to read
oughta be a good night
We’re live in 3, 2—
fuck, man, busted on a hot mic
Cuz it’s a hurricane
a hurricane party
End days
every other Wednesday
Live girls dance
dead men float
A hurricane party
gold dust, sex, and Bacardi
DJ says don’t hold back
because the water won’t
Looks like someone leaked the password
too much tea to clean earl grey disaster
Campaign manager come walks it backwards
but he’s the one who tipped TV—clever bastard
Shots fired in the echo chamber
rico-ricochet
The other side puts kids in danger
don’t matter what their argument, that’s what they always say
Front of the parade girl spins a baton
band leader conducts with a corn on the cob
The new sound gets everybody out on their lawn
composed for french horn, cash register, mob
Hook
Okay, who broke the chain letter
too much bad luck to try to get away with it
One more plague, nobody goes to recess
Chatbots away take out your paper pieces
longhand
Gimme an essay on the living conditions in Oz written by the Strawman:
housing shot up, looking for a soft land
Dorothy comes to, couldn’t give a goddamn
Looking for a few recruits
to do what must be done
So if you got the heart and a pair of good boots
meet me at the food court by Forever 21
Hook
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2. |
Decoy
02:21
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Not a sidepiece
or a wifepiece
I’m a thinkpiece
If you’re done then
take your dishes to
the sink please
Wash to the right
dry to the left
mind is a kite
and the fall is a mess
Out of office
out of body
out of fucks to give
sorry not sorry
With a busted rib
ain’t a thing to do about it
just tape and time and then you take the turn again
Lean in harder
hope the road won’t burn
so bad this time
you read your curve
fast as fuck
fit to swerve
put the money to the metal come and get your girl
Til the lights blur
til the lines meet in the middle of the high beams
and the wipers
keep time with the heartbeat
Til you hit a nerve
I’m falling
don’t catch me
don’t touch me
don’t call me
Not much we
let go
even when we should and we know it
I walk the wall
with both hands open
I’d leave it all
Smokey eye because
the mind’s on fire
Break glass and pass the axe skyward
Stone the satellites
drones versus battle kites
Here goes
the next past life
There’s a speaker
in a decoy
at the heart of the mine
that rewinds
the same birdsong
Tell the back of the line
that the digging is fine
let’s get the third shift on
They say that a rising tide
when it comes in
will lift every ship
But they skipped
the bit about wildfire
how it burns every bridge
Panic tryna find
a little dry ground
big back ups everybody outbound
Not me
I’m like the good witch
bring the motherfucking house down
Looks like I hit a nerve
I hit a nerve
No patience I stay laced up and
I’m running
Learned a phrase in
every country
I’ve lived and died, been revived like this
That game you taught me how to play
I won it
Moved out East
and I stayed hungry
And when the magic’s on me, I can’t miss
I can’t miss
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3. |
Chopper
02:39
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When I’m good, I know it
When I’m bad I don’t know why
If you like it, you should show it
before we run right out of night
Tired of the bar scene
the stupid parties
getting makeup off my face
and glitter out the carpet
Meet me in the elevator, let’s press all the buttons
we can say our goodbyes later
place is faded won’t remember nothing
Visine, cab fare, dry shampoo
I’ll take another like déjà—you
should let your guard down
I laid all my cards out
Bells are ringing last round
but I’m not turning back now
This might be love
it’s still too close to call
But when the lights come up
don’t wanna be the flower on the wall
Our nights are numbered
you can count them as they fall
But I like the thunder
I’m here to feel it all
I know something’s missing
I know something isn’t right
Seems like the good ones always hidden
somewhere just outta sight
I think I’m ready, but I can’t say that I’m not afraid
I got a sense of direction that gets in my own way
I know at best it gets messy
nobody’s got an extra heart on hand to break
Dark eyes, allspice, hey look who
walked in shark fin headed for the
pool table oooh maybe
we could shoot a few later
I got things to do but this game is better two-player
Hook
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4. |
Tell Me Again
03:23
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You keep in touch
but out of reach
You know me
I always did like hide and seek
This crush
I’m underneath
it gets lonely
more hand to mouth than cheek to cheek
Tell me again and
this time try to mean it
Tell me again and
This time try to mean it
You call me up
from far away
though it’s so late
you don’t seem to have much to say
I think you must
have news to break
I can take it
I’d rather hear it from you, baby
Hook
If we’re just play fighting
how come that blade’s shining
how come my eyeliner’s running
Then all of a sudden
you strike lightning
You turn me outside in
then I’m hit
I’m in trouble
Now it’s
just a matter of time
It’s just a matter of time
It’s just a matter of time
I hope you love somebody
Even if that body isn’t mine
Even if that body isn’t mine
it isn’t
Even if that body isn’t
if that body isn’t
Even if that body isn’t
that body isn’t mine
Oh, just a little liquid courage and
Ooh, just a little powdered faith
I’ve been in and out of trouble
while you have been walking away
Oh, just a little liquid courage and
Ooh, just a little powdered faith
And oh, you’ve been running out of patience
And me, I’ve just been dancing in place
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5. |
I Already Like You
02:29
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Don’t be shy
I already like you
Don’t care what you drive
I’m attracted to the IQ
Not my style to make the first move
Haven’t felt this type of way since maybe high school
Sealed with a kiss
Signed with an Epipen
You gotta tolerate some risk
If you wanna make a margin, wanna make a friend
We could live a little larger
Split the dividends
Wheels up
Let’s go
Already missed too much
To take this thing too slow
I already like you
There’s no sure bet
You just ride, ride, ride roulette
And I like you
I already like you
It feels right
Because it’s true
Don’t have to try when
I’m with you
You’re not the type to bend a rule
But I’m your bullet
And the proof
This city can feel like a little town
Think a marathon’s on, way they’re running all their mouths
But let em talk,
Let em wear their selves out
My book stays open
I know ‘cause I wrote it
Fucked up the trust fall
Caught a concussion
Run it off, that ain’t nothing
But the cost
The cost of doing business
And I can take a hit with the big kids
Back up off me and count your own fingers
Wheels up
Let’s go
I could be your bullet and the proof
Bullet and the proof
I already
I already like you
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6. |
Twelve to One
02:45
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Summer on the subway
whole city sweatin on the platform
And the 4 would go to my place
but there’s bodies pressed against the train doors
I’ll wait til the next one comes—
been wearing that phrase out
It’s hard to meet someone
to unmeet the last one somehow
Oh, there’s your face in the crowd again
I see you all over town
It’s like there must be a dozen of you
But just one me and lately she’s breaking down
Oreos and bourbon
I rent a movie and I watch it in bed
That’s a B+ Thursday
and the past stays asleep in my head
But then the camera pulls back
A sea of people out in the park
I press pause, and I hear myself laugh
I lean in and I’m shot through the—
Hook
Oh, there’s your face in the crowd again
I see you all over town
It’s like there must be a dozen of you
Oh, I guess I’ll see you around
I guess I’ll see you around
There’s your face in the crowd again
I see you all over town
It’s like there must be a dozen of you
but only one me and she’s freaking out
Hooks
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7. |
Blush
02:41
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You like it when I wear my hair down but
I say that way it just gets in my eyes
you say that’s exactly what you like so much
I think that sums us up
sometimes
I’ll be
your favorite me
mostly carefree
laughs easily
But what you can’t see
in my routine
is how hard it gets to keep the heartbeat clean
I can see the problem clearly
I can see the simple fact is
that you like me in theory
and I like you back in practice
I’m a moon for you
give you just the good side
save you all the best lines
Sometimes I wish that I was
immune to you
could see you and go right by
pull myself away from your high tide
I’ll be fine again by morning, right
I set a timer to remind myself
Nights are just sentimental for me, why
of all of the people on the planet
can’t think of anybody else
I know we’re sposed
to keep it light, but
no one can pick their appetites, so
I think I’m done up on the tightrope
I want a love that feels like more than just survival
My beauty
My anger
My sadness
all anchored
they’re fused to the bone
You can’t take some
and leave some
I’m this way for a reason
You gotta love it all whole
or let it all go
But there’s room for two
we could share a flashlight
you and me by a landslide every time
but if it’s true that you
don’t feel so satisfied by it
I won’t wait around and wonder why
Hook
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8. |
Crash
02:12
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I came to crash your party
Looks like your party crashed itself
Everyone left early
there must be something good going somewhere else
But I see you through the window
you’re wearing the face you make when you’re alone
I knock and you let me though
you wanna know what I came for
And I accidentally tell the truth
I don’t know what to do
when I’m not here with you
I’m lost
I’m running around
I’m a creep
I’m a clown
I’m exhausted
So I came to crash your party
and yeah I know now it’s too late to talk
I just wanna help pick up all the pieces
feel like it never even happened at all
I came to crash your party
c’mon and say I can stay just to help
I know you could use somebody
to get the glasses back up on the shelf
I came to crash your party
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9. |
What If I'm Not Ready
03:09
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I ran away young
with a kite and a water gun
looking for a fight
pretty quick to find some
Hair tucked up in a Lakers cap
flip the lucky in a soft pack
smoked it last
Walking down the yellow line
g’head write your traffic ticket
I thought I was hard as fuck
I thought I was on a mission
Jump cut to the present day
still got the same sharp tongue
same long face
Pride
is my problem
I know that’s right
but that don’t solve it
I don’t like favors
I don’t like debts I can’t repay
I don’t like making
anything less than my own way
What if I’m not ready
What if I’m not ready
for all that I’ve been waiting for
Hold it all against me
push me through the only doorway
I’ve been here too long by now
and that’s how time runs out
On the phone with a friend
says worry where you're going don’t worry where you’ve been
Sounds like he’s reaching out a hand
are you reaching back to him
Maybe you’re too attached to your freedom
truth is you don’t let anybody in cuz you don’t like em leaving
My pride
is my problem
I know that’s right
but that don’t solve it
Hook
My battle cry
just one last time
My signal fire
this life of mine
My pride
is my problem
My battle cry
I don’t like favors
I don’t like debts I can’t repay
My signal fire
I don’t like making anything less than my own way
For all that I’ve been waiting for
What if I’m not ready
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10. |
Long Wave
03:33
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The razor’s free
but they get you on the blades it’s
basically
on a know-to-need it basis
Who’s gonna who’s gonna go and get it
I’m on the road already
Beijing
to Bombay
to Boise
Signal gets lost in the noise we
tune in but tap out before too long
Chatter on the intercom
who’s gonna go and get it
Someone else’s job
I’m on the road already
But I keep the radio on
The long wave
the last stations calling
The long wave
goes the way of all things
Starve the guard dog and see what hunger does
it’s easy when we’re well fed to talk of love
Panic bought a weighted blanket
now can’t get up to change the channels
lost cabin pressure in the living room
What we wanted so bad, now we have it
still end up with parts not on the package
just tryna put a new joint in solid bone
Pull over
read by
the dome light
Shoulder
to sleep on
til sunrise
But I listen in the whole night
scanning for a voice I know
Rearview shows a cloud of dust
a ghost arisen
Windshield don’t show much
but I know something’s hidden
so I spin the dial real slow
On these straightaways
lonely steeplechase
only me to race home
and I know it
Day then night then day
loop these interstates
More goodbyes than hellos
I just go with
Hook
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11. |
Rothko
03:04
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You see shapes inside the paintings
but all I see is black
at a chapel here in Houston
where we’re standing back to back
Questions here are useless
nothing answers back
But I can’t stop my mind from trying
all it wants to know is why
Other people’s prayers
hanging in the air
between you and me and everything
we’ve kept unsaid so carefully
I don’t want to care so much
for someone I can barely see
But I can’t stop my body pining
all it wants to do is try
Me without a hill to die on
You without a ring to kiss
With nightfall comes that fool Orion
who never swings so can’t be missed
A machine with no sense is just a wheel to spin
For all we try to invent we wind up here again
Me without a hill to die on
guess I’ll have to heal from this
Pool cue and a pair of pythons
make my own caduceus
We seem to be ending
before we begin
It’s like losing the feeling
in a phantom limb
We choose which fools
to suffer
And they choose
to suffer us
We lose all use of
color
Just water
on the brush
But you and me
we could be
cadmium
cadmium red
cadmium
cadmium red
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Dessa Minneapolis
Dessa is a writer and touring musician based in Manhattan and Minneapolis. Quick wit, sharp pen, soft heart.
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