Death Valley Girls: Street Venom 2014 (Deluxe Edition 2021) + Under The Spell Of Joy 2020

 

Describing their music as "California doom boogie," Death Valley Girls are a garage punk band whose

tough, fuzzy sound melds bad-trip psychedelia and biker-soundtrack drama with lyrics celebrating a rich variety of questionable behavior. Buzzy lead guitars, muscular and primitive drumming, and Bonnie Bloomgarden's bold vocal stylings were the hallmarks of early albums like 2014's Street Venom and 2016's Glow in the Dark. As the group matured on 2020's Under the Spell of Joy and 2023's Islands in the Sky, their attack gained a bit of refinement, hard rock influences became more audible, and echoey atmospheric production added new layers to their music.
              

Death Valley Girls was formed in 2013 by Patty Schemel, her brother Larry Schemel, Rachel Orosco, and Bonnie Bloomgarden after the group needed "something safe to do that wasn't AA". The initial

lineup featured drummer Patty Schemel (who had worked with Hole and Juliette and the Licks), her brother Larry Schemel on guitar (previously of Lucid Nation), bassist Rachel Orosco, and lead singer Bonnie Bloomgarden (a former member of the Witnesses). They made a low-key debut with 2014's cassette-only release Street Venom, which was issued without credits. Later that year, they released a single, "Electric High" b/w "Gettin' Hard," by which time Patty Schemel had left the band, and Laura Kelsey (ex-Flytraps) took over on drums.
                       

Their second full-length release, 2016's Glow in the Dark, documented more lineup changes -- Alana Amram replaced Rachel Orosco as their bassist, and Jessie Jones came aboard to share vocal duties

with Bloomgarden. 2018's Darkness Rains was the group's first album for Suicide Squeeze Records, and included the song "Disaster (Is What We're After)." The video for the song included an impressive endorsement from punk pioneer Iggy Pop, who eats a fast food burger while listening to the tune. In 2020, they released a limited-edition live cassette, Levitation Sessions, that was recorded during a set at the Cone in Los Angeles.
                         

2020's Under the Spell of Joy featured Larry Schemel and Bonnie Bloomgarden joined by Nicole "Pickle" Smith on bass and Rikki Styxx on drums, while Laura Kelsey moved from percussion to

keyboards. Street Venom was given an expanded reissue in July 2021, making the cassette available in vinyl and digital formats. In early 2022, Death Valley Girls released a split single with Le Butcherettes, with the former performing "When I'm Free" and the latter doing "The Universe." The following April, "When I'm Free" was issued again in a remix from electro-rap pioneer Peaches. Issued in February 2023, Islands in the Sky was the Death Valley Girls' most polished effort to date.
               

For these sessions, Sammy Westervelt took over on bass and vocals from Nicole "Pickle" Smith, and

Laura Kelsey dropped out of the band, with Bonnie Bloomgarden serving double duty on vocals and keyboards. The album also featured guest appearances from Gregg Foreman on additional keys and Gabe Flores on sax. Death Valley Girls' music is characterized by a blend of garage rock,[4] punk, psych rock, gothic rock, and elements of surf rock and 1960s girl groups. The band's live performances focus around Bloomgarden's vocals and on-stage theatricality.
               

DEATH VALLEY GIRLS - STREET VENOM 2014 (DELUXE EDITION 2021)

                             

Street Venom was originally released in 2014 as a limited series of cassettes and is now getting a new

release from the excellent Suicide Squeeze Records. Time has not cooled the heat that pours off these tracks and if you are feeling in a quiet reflective mood then maybe hold off on listening to this for the time being. However, if you want an ear-grating, cone warping wall of abrasive fuzz then jump on in.
              

This is Patti Smith meets The Cramps in a relentless bulldozer of heart-warming noise on both the fast

and slow tracks. Far-away vocals are sung/screamed over the waves of fuzz with all the force of a hand grenade, and there are bagful’s of hooks and pyrotechnic choruses with the stand-outs being ‘Sanitarium Blues’ (sic), ‘Arrow’ and ‘Shadow’ (with its stellar opening drum beat).
             

This is a blistering hot-rod of an album, decked out with a bleached animal skull hood ornament and it

would tear up the desert floor and send lizards scattering in all directions. So, paint flames on my thighs and hook me up with chrome exhausts, NOx propellant and a parachute and fire me down the Death Valley Girl’s drag strip.
                

Even as the deluxe edition is a balancing act between the familiar and the new, what remains a constant

in this release and others from Death Valley Girls is the troupe’s gift of delivering good old fashioned rock and roll. Street Venom is a record to sing along with, dance and head-bang to, and ultimately get lost in with the ecstatic feeling it inspires. That’s what Death Valley Girls do best, and it’s what they bring back to the deluxe edition of their debut.

 

 

 

Death Valley Girls – Street Venom
Label: Suicide Squeeze Records 2021
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Feb 11, 2014
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Punk

TRAXS

               

01. No Reason    2:41
02. Sanitarium Blues    2:12
03. Arrow    3:40
04. Get Home    3:03
05. Shadow    2:53
06. Getting Hard   3:13
07. Paradise Blues    5:06
08. Run Run Rocky    3:24
09. Red Glare    2:26
10. Girlfriend    3:57
11. Electric High  3:29

NOTES

              

Recorded and mixed by Mark Rains at
Station House Studios, Echo Park, CA.
All songs written by Death Valley Girls
(Bloomgarden, Orosco, Schemel, y Schemel)

NO REASON LYRICS

                         

Lightning can strike twice
Or as much as you like

[Verse 1]
The sky's no limit
As far as I can see
It’s the ground underneath my feet

[Chorus]
No one can tell you why
Don't let them even try
Everything happens for no reason
Or not at all

[Verse 2]
They got so many shiny pretty things
All around this world now
To make you believe

[Chorus]
No one can tell you why
Don't let them even try
Everything happens for no reason
Or not at all

MP3 @ 320 Size: 101 MB
Flac  Size: 241 MB

DEATH VALLEY GIRLS - UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY 2020

                        

Chicks so cool they got the stamp of approval from Iggy Pop, which as it turns out still means

something. The Death Valley Girls have got the goods. They manage the impressive trick of making vital sounding rock 'n' roll that sounds at once timeless and current. Sure, they draw on garage rock and psych and proto-punk, incorporating plenty of heavy keyboards and psychotic sax (clearly, they learned the lesson of the Stooges), but none of it sounds like a preservation project.
                    

These are their weapons of choice and their influences, but they make it all their own with attitude and

with a sense of ease. The songs not only sound great and make you want to tap your foot, pump your fist, or pump your foot, but they also have some smart lyrics with moments of wit and deep feeling. I don't have the time to get in the weeds here, but overall, a really good album that sounds way more fresh and unaffected than you could hope for 40+ years after most of these ideas were laid down.
                

"Under the Spell of Joy" is an alchemy of earworms, shimmering with hypnotic vocals, a ghostly

children’s choir, swirling keys, garage-rock guitars, propulsive drumming, droning saxophone, and rumbling bass. Ultimately, the album is a grand success, and it’s impossible not to bliss out while this is playing. So put it on and enjoy your out-of-body experience.
                      

Death Valley Girls – Under The Spell Of Joy
Label: Suicide Squeeze – SSQ174
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Oct 2, 2020
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Garage Rock, Punk

TRAXS

                  

01. Hypnagogia
02. Hold My Hand
03. Under The Spell Of Joy
04. Bliss Out
05. Hey Dena
06. The Universe
07. It All Washes Away
08. Little Things
09. 10 Day Miracle Challenge
10. I'd Rather Be Dreaming
11. Dream Cleaver

LINE - UP

                  

Bass – Nicole "Pickle" Smith
Drums – Rikki Styxx
Guitar – Larry Schemel
Organ, Vocals – Laura "The Kid" Kelsey
Vocals, Guitar, Organ – Bonnie Bloomgarden
Saxophone - Gabe Flores
Keyboards - Gregg Foreman

10 DAY MIRACLE CHALLENGE LYRICS

                       

Be the biggest star in sight
Don't let them get into your mind
Follow guides into the light
Do it all until you die

Potential is the race
You can win it everyday
Believe everything you say
Don't let goals fade away

                           

Don't get distracted
Just take some action
Let your greatest fears implode
Don't get distracted
Just take some action
Make your biggest dreams explode

There's no time to dеny
The needs you have in your life
Grab thе horn and let it loose
Do what you want to

                  

Don't get distracted
Just take some action
Let your greatest fears implode
Don't get distracted
Just take some action
Make your biggest dreams explode

Don't get distracted
Just take some action
Let your greatest fears implode
Don't get distracted
Just take some action
Make your biggest dreams explode

MP3 @ 320 Size: 101  MB
Flac  Size: 257 MB