Déyyess turns the emotional whiplash of love and self-discovery into glittering alt-pop
BY ALISA PASHA, IMAGE BY SAMANTHA MONENDO
Punchy drums and hazy, weightless textures throw you straight into the intoxicating chaos of a crush. Déyyess captures the deliciously delusional business of fancying someone with startling precision in the EP’s opener. As she gets “lost in the crush”, her vocals overlap and swirl, mirroring the way desire can swallow your better judgement. There’s an undercurrent of sadness beneath the euphoria of the emotional fallout in feeling everything all at once.
English singer-songwriter Déyyess and the self-proclaimed “people’s lesbian princess” is back with her fourth EP Well I Might Just Die. From touring with Alessi Rose and opening for Olivia Rodrigo, the latest edition in her discography explores the messy intersection of loving someone else whilst also learning to love yourself.
That vulnerability runs deeper on her second track, which confronts religious trauma and the internalised homophobia that can eat you up inside. Growing up queer, in the quintessential city of Canterbury, Déyyyes struggled to be open with her sexuality. Rather than stay in that darkness, The Chapel turns those feelings inside out, making a song rooted in love and joy: a defiant celebration of queer self-acceptance.
Guitar strums usher in She Makes Me Bloom, a tender love song whose beguiling melodies capture affection in full flower. Its jangly sound, courtesy of a Japanese ’70s Lawsuit 12-string guitar, lends the track an almost timeless quality. Co-written with singer Matilda Cole, it’s a bona fide sapphic anthem, written by two women who love women.
She’s So Pretty follows with a dreamy comedown, its layered harmonies creating a soft, floaty sound that contrasts with its bittersweet subject matter. “Falling through my hands”, the track captures the helplessness of unrequited love. Though acoustically lovely, it feels a little underwritten, lacking the lyrical depth to make its heartbreak truly land.
Romantic tension returns on the title track Well I Might Just Die, blending airy alt dream-pop textures and a hint of The Smiths. That yearning becomes more painful on She’s The Only One, an emotionally charged confession, giving impossible feelings somewhere to land – made all the more evocative by its raw, scratch vocals.
The tracklist could benefit from greater variety in its instrumentation; as it progresses, some of the material blends together, struggling to establish their own distinct sonic identities. A little more experimentation would help each song find its own voice.
Closing the EP, Spilled My Guts brings things full circle, capturing the gut-punch of rejection. The soft crashing of cymbals gives way to an increasingly exposed, vulnerable confession. It’s a fitting final note for a record that thrives on emotional contradictions.
The EP’s momentum dips in places, but its strongest moments sparkle. A confident, heartfelt, step into her new era, Déyyess makes lesbian yearning feel expansive rather than isolating, balancing glittering hooks with the messy work of self-discovery.
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