DEATH VALLEY GIRLS, the garage rock fury from Los Angeles, led by vocalist/guitarist/organist and charismatic voodoo doll Bonnie Bloomgarden,
who love to doom boogie while glowing in the dark, have their new – 5th – album,
baptized ISLANDS IN THE SKY out on 24 February 2023. Pre-order info here.
The first single, titled WHAT ARE THE ODDS is a ridiculously sticky juiced-up power-pop chant triggering your limbs to get up and move. And when the under the spell of joy choir joins Bonnie Bloomgarden on the elated chorus you just know that the odds are huge for the Californian über alles girls having another top album are huge.
We are living in a simulated world
And we are simulated girls!
A stream of rattling rippers, jagged jams, and magnific musings
All 20 on Spotify
. Track by Track
Stoogefather IGGY POP still wants to be your dog.
Next January he launches a new album, named Every Loser.
First lead single FRENZY is a motherfucker of a punk bomb
featuring an all-star band including Watt, Guns N’ Roses‘ Duff
McKagan and Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith.
I’m in a frenzy
Fucking prick
I’m in a frenzy
Goddamn dick
But they’re not done yet this year. They teamed up with Laurie Vincent
of London‘s punk duo Slaves for a brand new hammer blow called THE DELICATE NATURE
It goes like this…
BOB VYLAN: Facebook – Instagram
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Both a gloomy and foot-tapping drum/bass are the backbone of this ominous post-punk stroke. Haunting guitar layers inject this jaw-dropper with edgy electricity, grim vocals add a kind of dark tension, while the sickly catchy groove rattles on and on, before a surprising finish with a weeping violin.
The video features the English comedian Sean Walsh in a much darker tone than his usual TV appearances, as he is seen battling his inner demons through the bottom of a whisky bottle.
DEAD PATRONS: Facebook
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Band: ULTRA SUNN Who: Cold/darkwave duo – Sam Huge
and Gaelle Souflet – from Brussels
Turn Up The Volume: Can you believe this? Even before the music comes
on I’m already moving furniture to make room, because with ULTRA SUNN
it’s always shake your booty time.
The tantalizing combination of boosting beats, shadowplay sound textures,
reverberant vocals, and a pumping chorus at work here, attract you to act the
whole way through. Just irresistible. With ambitious artists like ULTRA SUNN
darkwave music will never age.
First taster LIFE IS AN EXPERIMENT (Cloud Climber Version) is vintage dub electronica honoring Lee “Scratch” Pery wonderfully. The Jamaican dub music pioneer who gave reggae another vibe with his revolutionary studio wizardry and visionary production technics. He passed away last year, aged 85. R.I.P.
Hear the ghost of Perry at work…
NEW AGE DOOM: Website
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(Keira-Anee Photography)
Band: BUGEYE Who: Female pop quartet from London blending cherry-liqueur lyrics,
bubblegum-kneecap bass electrics, goth-heavy drum compactions and
hi-rise guitar sculptures.
Swedish electro-pop artist FEVER RAY (born Karin Elisabeth Dreijer, 47 years ago)
canned her 3rd album and named it RADICAL ROMANTICS. It comes out on 10 March 2023. More info here.
Spicy taster CARBON DIOXIDE is an edgy
Björk-esque disco-pop stomper. Bingo!
Band:MEMES Who: A noisy Glasgow duo (cousins) called John and Paul – not that John and Paul, obviously. And as band name John Paul II would be ridiculous, they called themselves Memes, and hit the scene in 2019, and have been twisting heads ever since
After their eponymous bonkers debut EP (2020) followed by some staggering singles,
the high-decibels tandem nail it with another sucker punch. Leader is a funk-punk riff ripsnorter that kicks forth and back before a freakish guitar outbreak slashes and
trashes its way to the end.
Watch out for the pigman,
he looks like a meme in disguise…
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS, the garage rock fury from Los Angeles, led by vocalist/guitarist/organist and charismatic voodoo doll Bonnie Bloomgarden,
who love to doom boogie while glowing in the dark, have their new – 5th – album,
baptized ISLANDS IN THE SKY out on 24 February 2023. Pre-order info here.
Along with the great news, DVG spoil our ears with the first single WHAT ARE THE ODDS.
It’s a ridiculously sticky juiced-up power-pop chant triggering your limbs to get up and move. And when the under the spell of joy choir joins Bonnie Bloomgarden on the elated chorus you just feel that the odds are huge for the simulated Californian girls having another top album are huge. Fact!
We are living in a simulated world
And we are simulated girls!
Band: CROSS WIRES Who: fervid post-punk 4-piece
from Romford, UK.
Single: MOURNING
The first piece of the band’s
upcoming second longplayer.
TUTV: Great news for all Cross Wires fans, including myself, out there.
Their 2nd album is finished/recorded and ready to leave its vault early
next year through Culture Wars Records. It follows the band’s album A Life Extinct. One of the most poignant debut records of 2019.
Lead single. Mourning is not a happy story. It’s a post-break-up cry out,
a cathartic shout out. Sixties psychedelic-sounding wah-wah guitar fuzz,
alternated with cutting six-string fervor stoke up the energy of this crackerjack
all the way, along with a steadfast drum/bass tandem, and back up frontman Jonathan Chapman‘s harrowing confession of lovesickness.
Band: JUSTINE PAYNE & CO. Who: Musician, composer and performer, describing himself
as a “natural born underdog.” With over 15 years of experience
in the industry
Payne describes how his life is changing throughout the song, but no amount
of fame or distraction could deviate him from the one he loves. The tender lyrics
contrast in the baddest way possible with Justine‘s gritty delivery.
TUTV: Expect a slow-burning slacker cracker with poignant Dinosaur Jr echoes and
garage rock reverberation stoked up by cranked-up guitars. As the song progresses Payne spellbinding voice takes over. Breathtaking.
A speedy psych roller featuring guitar lines from Johnny Marr.
The song is the first piece The Chief shared from a new album
coming next year. Details follow later.
Gallagher:“For this new record it was the first thing I wrote, the first thing I demoed and the first thing I finished, so it’s only right that it’s the first thing people get to hear. Massive shout out to my mainest man Johnny Marr for taking it somewhere special. Oh… and watch out for a cameo from me in the video… first one to spot me wins a bag of Flamin’ Hot Wotsits Giants!!”
Music, maestro, please…
NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS: Facebook – Instagram
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Who: Zach Pliska and Emily Sturm. The project started in 2017.
They describe their sound as deathgaze, combining the raw energy
of deathrock with the depth of shoegaze. So far the duo released
four albums and a handful of singles and EPs.
TUTV: Vazum ventilate their anger versus the money-greedy corporate music industry
with this brutal straightforward shocker generating a wall-of-fuck-the-elite-labels sound that bulldozes its way on repeat with schizo guitars, a non-stop spiteful rant and Emily Sturm‘s freakish backing vocals. Bang-on!
Lyrically and sonically it follows Lin Manuel closely. Lyrical guitar play
stars along Chavez‘s fervid soul/blues voice. She still has hope for the
future. No, it’s not over yet.
Artists: FERAL FIVE Who: Electro-punk dance music duo – Kat and Drew Five – from London
with bite, fusing snarling guitars, sparkling synths, and ferocious beats.
Single: GOLDEN RULE
Fresh piece from their long-awaited debut album, named The New Truth Is Gold out on 10 February 2023 through Reckless Yes.
FF: “‘The golden rule is people come together. This is a shimmering
anthem of renewal, and a clarion call for people to come together.”
TUTV: Golden Rule is a desirous pick-me-up pop tune. Airy, breezy, instantly catching and an invitation to get together in these troublous times. Kat Five‘s vocals float all over this romantic reflection and glossy synths sparkle throughout. The most notable component, to my ears, of this new piece, is the distinctive Cure-like guitar sonority. Feverish, shadowy and arresting. Pretty cool. Bring on the album FF.
Band: VOGUE VILLAINS Who: A hard-rocking alternative band from Vancouver Island, Canada with a musical foundation planted firmly in catchy melodies and multipart harmonies. Set on making music that feels unique, yet unafraid to wear the boys many influences on their sleeves, this powerhouse of a band has created a sound that is undeniably and unmistakably VV.
TUTV: Hells bells! This nasty motherrocker of a hammer blow speeds up your adrenalin machine from the kick-off. VV mix blues rock, classic rock and hard rock seamlessly into a red-hot-blooded wall-of-riff-sick sound. A boiling mishmash of intimidating guitars, a powerhouse rhythm section, a Herculean chorus, boogie-woogie flashes and vociferous vocals is what your stereo speakers will spit out. Just what you need to bang your head against a wall. Hells bell, indeed.
Band: TAPE TRASH Who: This new duo project draw inspiration from the music they listened to when
they first picked up their instruments as enthusiastic teenagers: Indie rock induced with infectious choruses, catchy guitar riffs, and huge drums. After an involuntary break due to the corona epidemic, they have spent the past year working on their debut album.
Single: OLD HIGHS
2nd piece, following lead-single Not Going Home,
from their upcoming debut longplayer
TUTV: Expect a multi-layered, towering and schizophrenic wall-of-guitar-electricity propelled by a pushing rhythm section. When they take the decibels a bit down it’s
only a foreplay moment for a stormy finale. Breathtaking stroke!
Band: SUEP Who: A stubbornly high-spirited combo creating oddball music with
a touch of theatrical storytelling. Fronted by Georgie Stott (Porridge Radio,
Garden Centre, The GN Band) and Brain Wastefield. SUEP is born out of a
near-decade of wearing silly clothes and deconstructing pop together.
TUTV: I love the vivid vibe here. In Good Health resonates like a comforting chant with friends, hand in hand, taking care of each other. It’s a frisky tune that plays instantly on your inner stereo in your head. It’s an all-together ditty that puts a big smile on your face.
More of that is expected when SUEP release their debut album, namedShop,
It lands on 27th January 2023 via Memorials Of Distinction.
The Short Causeway are a notable 2022 example. They zig-zag their way through
this debut single with capricious tempo changes, with glimmering guitar sparks,
breezy melodiousness, and moony vocals. Welcome!
Tune in.
. THE SHORT CAUSEWAY: Facebook – Twitter
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PISTOL brings together all of the elements that have made CAS such a celebrated band, while also introducing a subtle yet impactful increase in tempo. Equal parts transportive and romantic, the song’s driving rhythm meets a stark, minimalistic atmosphere that is given dimension by dreamy, washed-out guitars, swelling synths, and intimate, yearning vocals from Greg Gonzalez.
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS, the garage rock fury from Los Angeles, led by vocalist/guitarist/organist and charismatic voodoo doll Bonnie Bloomgarden,
who love to doom boogie while glowing in the dark, have their new – 5th – album,
baptized ISLANDS IN THE SKY out on 24 February 2023. Pre-order info here.
Along with the great news, DVG spoil our ears with the first single WHAT ARE THE ODDS.
It’s a ridiculously sticky juiced-up power-pop chant triggering your limbs to get up and move. And when the under the spell of joy choir joins Bonnie Bloomgarden on the elated chorus you just feel that the odds are huge for the simulated Californian girls having another top album are huge. Fact!
We are living in a simulated world
And we are simulated girls!
The awesome garage rockers from the City of Angels,
led by the drop-dead gorgeuous Bonnie Bloomgarden
are ready to hit the road to Northern America and Canada.
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS – 4AD Club, Diksmuide, Belgium – 23 February 2019
After following this red-hot Los Angeles garage gang since their 2014 debut LP Street Venom hit me in the face and having interviewed them at the end of 2017 I finally got
to see DEATH VALLEY GIRLS explode on stage, for the very first time, yesterday. Are they that special I hear you ask. Absolutely. This crazed quartet combines The Stooges‘ raw power, The Cramps‘ rockabilly lunacy, Black Sabbath‘s metallic insanity and they inject their sonic havoc with a cool, dark sense of humor. Oh, and one more thing: they love cemeteries. As expected the band’s ringleader Bonnie Bloomgarden led the rollicking troops last night. Intoxicating opener Abre Camino from new stirring album Darkness Rains set the heated tone of a stormy set instantly, with blazing bangers Death Valley Boogie, Disco, Electric High and the already classic stormer Disaster (Is What Were’ After) being the tumultuous highlights of a thunderous show…
… in between, ambiguous groove Gettin Hard, infectious poppy chant Pink Radiation
and organ injected swagger Wear Black showed their versatile songwriting caliber while Bonnie was wandering all over the place and hugged cracking bass player Pickle a couple
of times. She’s the charismatic eyecatcher of a hell-raising foursome that spoiled us all with a psych-o-delic Halloween experience in February. HAIL HAIL DEATH VALLEY GIRLS!
Band: DEATH VALLEY GIRLS Who: Garage rock fury from Los Angeles, led by
vocalist/guitarist/organist and charismatic voodoo
doll Bonnie Bloomgarden, fabricating Californian
doom boogie.
Active since 2013 / 4 albums (so far),
with Under The Spell Of Joy (2020)
as their most recent.
Band: DEATH VALLEY GIRLS Who: Garage rock fury from Los Angeles, led by
vocalist/guitarist/organist and charismatic voodoo
doll Bonnie Bloomgarden, fabricating Californian
doom boogie. Active since 2013 / 4 albums so far
Bonnie Bloomgarden (main Valley Girl): “Being in a body, experiencing reality as a human, is endlessly challenging. There’s so much darkness, suffering, sorrow, and division, it’s hard to get past. Sometimes, and often for too long, I just stay in the darkness, forgetting there’s anything else. And then sometimes, my guides remind me to look around, sometimes, just look around, at this Earth, at its infinite beauty and intricacy, and simplicity, and sometimes I can feel it, that it’s all really kind of amazing.”
Turn Up The Volume: After the band’s fabtastic 2020 album Under The Spell Of Joy
(one of Turn Up The Volume’s top 5 LPs last year) the amazeballs girls from the City
of Death Valley Angels continue to spread a positive vibe.
But songwriter/singer Bonnie Bloomgarden knows damn well (from experience) that
eternal joy is a utopian dream but when you use all of your senses, you can see, hear,
feel and smell heartwarming things coming.
After the pandemic darkness, there’s a lot of hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is real. I guess that’s what Bonnie expresses here with this sweet, catchy lullaby tune. It’s not the end of the world as we know it and it feels fine.
Band: DEATH VALLEY GIRLS Who: Garage rock fury from Los Angeles, led by
vocalist/guitarist/organist and charismatic voodoo
doll Bonnie Bloomgarden, fabricating Californian
doom boogie. Active since 2013 / 4 albums so far
Debut album STREET VENOM – released in 2014, only on
a small run of cassettes – comes back 30th July, for the first
time on vinyl, courtesy of Suicide Squeeze Records.
This deluxe edition is a fully remixed and remastered version
of Street Venom plus two bonus tracks. The initial vinyl pressing
is limited to 2000 copies—1,500 on Satan’s Fingerprint (retail only),
300 on Full Moon Fever, and 200 on Eye of the Beholder (both available
only direct from the label store and Bandcamp). A digital issue is
also obtainable. More info right HERE.
I still love you, Bonnie (photo by Turn Up The Volume)
To get in the right mood, the band shared a psychedelia-colored
video clip for Sanitarium Blues, one of the album’s highlights.
Bonnie Bloomgarden about the song…
“When I was a kid, I ended up in a mental institution after trying to finish my life!
I eventually found out that I am bipolar and extremely empathetic. Life just got too intense/scary to know how to deal with alone! I didn’t know how to get help or that
help would work… This song is about my stay at the institution! The combination of
stuff I do that is currently keeping me alive/balanced is taking antidepressants,
walking a lot, meditating, therapy, plant medicine, space from humans, and my dog.”
Last October the fabtatsic garage rock hellcats DEATH VALLEY GIRLS returned from
their Los Angeles graves for their flabbergasting, third, album UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY. Sonically a different beast than the previous two longplayers. To Turn Up The Volume‘s hungry ears the DVG’s best and boldest work (so far).
To remind the world of this big LP, Death Valley Girls disclosed a new video for one of
the highlights Little Things. To remind the world of all three previous clips I decided
to show them all together, right here, starting with the fresh one, of course.
Dim the lights, take a big bucket of popcorn, and
let your eyes and ears have a spell-binding time …
After their psych-o-delic album Darkness Rains, their third full length released two years ago, garage-rock hell cats DEATH VALLEY GIRLS returned from their Los Angeles graves for
the flabbergasting follow-up UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY. Sonically a different beast, from
the Death Valley universe where anything can happen.
(Re)discovering the powerful force of joy the longplayer sounds magical, but be aware the Girls are still SPELL-binding, you never know what they have up on their shiny sleeve. But that didn’t stop Turn Up The Volume to contact first lady Bonnie Bloomgarden for a 2020 chat. But as usual, we start with a piece of music. Let’s go to the disco…
New album UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY was a sonic surprise. How would
you describe the different sound and approach of the record?
“We wanted to expand on some of the ideas from the last album by experimenting
a bit more. We wanted to have tons of backup gang vocals, a kids chorus, sax and
keyboard on most songs. And we wanted it to be like sound improvised!”
Who’s eyes do we see on the album’s front cover?
“Her name is Olga Klüver, she was an artist who hung out with
Andy Warhol and The Factory crowd in New York in the 60’s.”
The title track is a thing of beauty with that angelic choir and the positive
message. What or who motivated you for this song, Bonnie?
“Thanks so much! It flew into my head while walking in my favorite park! The rhythm of my steps just too form into that melody! I felt so lucky! I ran into a coffee shop and borrowed someone’s phone so I could leave the melody on my voicemail. I used to never take my phone on walks…”
How hard was it to hear that for a band-made-to-play-live concerts
were cancelled due to the coronavirus?
“It’s extremely hard for everyone in every job. The toughest part for us is trying to
figure out how and when we can help. We are really lucky we finished the record
before quarantine, and that it’s bringing some amount of joy to people.”
What did you feel the moment you heard
of the fall of Donald Trump?
“Hopeful.”
Suppose you were the new and first lady in the White House,
what music would you play in the Oval Office?
“Iggy, Ronnie Spector, Black Sabbath, The Cramps, Dead Moon.”
You’re asked to rewrite and put new music to the National USA Anthem. No restrictions whatsoever. What would be the outcome, in sound and vision?
“No words, just guitar, bass and drums with the Bo Diddley beat!”
2020 was the year of covers. Which song would
you pick to turn it into a DVG vibe?
TURN UP THE VOLUME 