Deap Vally has announced the upcoming release of an EP, entitled American Cockroach, which is preceded by their new single, “Give Me A Sign.” The album is a collaborative work, with appearances of Jennie Vee and Ayse Hassan.
The retro video looks as if it were shot with vintage film. It is beautiful and slightly unsettling, as Lindsay Troy’s dissonant and easy vocals float atop film close-ups of botanicals gently opening and closing. Amongst the lovely shots of the flowers, Troy’s vocals liltingly plead for understanding. The song seems to allude to the confusion of life, with lyrics that plead for “a sign,” and the song ends on a morose note with the words “Give me a sign / To make up my mind / Cuz doubt it does haunt me / And the darkness it wants me / Give me a sign / Cuz sometimes I’m blind / And this blackness is eerie / Will I ever see clearly.”
Troy says of the new track, “[This] is a deeply personal song. It will always mark a very specific time in my life. Sonically, it’s adventurous territory for us, unlike anything else we’ve ever put out before.” She goes on to share, “the use of unusual instrumentation like the Optigan elevates the sense of melancholy and anguish this song is so heavy with, and we love it very much.”
American Cockroach was produced by Deap Vally as well as their “longtime friend and engineer,” Josiah Mazzaschi.
Deap Vally says of the upcoming EP, “American Cockroach is a collection of songs we’ve been working on for a while, including collaborations with Jennie Vee (Eagles of Death Metal) and Ayse Hassan (Savages), that run the gamut from deeply personal, to outright satire and everything in between. These are songs for the underdog, the outlaw, the defeated, for days when you feel like no one understands you or you can’t do anything right.” These elements are clearly indicated in the uncertain sentiments of their latest single.
The duo released a joint album with The Flaming Lips, entitled Deap Lips, which was followed by 2021’s Deap Vally EP, Digital Dream.
American Cockroach EP tracklist:
- “Give Me A Sign”
- “I Like Crime feat. Jennie Vee (Eagles Of Death Metal)”
- “American Cockroach”
- “Better Off With Nothing feat. Ayse Hassan (Savages)”