Death Valley Girls | TURN UP THE VOLUME!

How Was 2020 For DEATH VALLEY GIRLS? First Lady BONNIE BLOOMGARDEN Answers The Question(s)…

30 December 2020

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?

“‘Real World’ by Buzzocks.”

What was the best track and album you heard in 2020?

“‘Track: ‘Dreams Wash Away‘ song by Joe Wong.”
“‘Album: ‘Nite Creatures‘ by Joe Wong.”

Prick of the year and hero-ine of the year?

“Aww, that’s too hard. So many heros!”

Which song will you play on January 1st?

“‘Black Sabbath‘ by Black Sabbath
always rings in the new year.”

Name three things you really want
to see happen in 2021, Bonnie?

“No more Covid, Live music, Joy!”

Any new DEATH VALLEY GIRLS music in 2021?

“Yes! We hope to be releasing so much new music
in the new year!”

Thank you for this chat, Bonnie.
May the road rise with Death Valley Girls
in 2021.

Get under the spell of joy here…

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DEATH VALLEY GIRLS: Facebook

(live pics DVG by Turn Up The Volume – Belgium 2019)

2020 Gospel Space Odyssey With DEATH VALLEY GIRLS On New Ace Album ‘UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY’

Posted on October 14 by TUTV!

14 October 2020

Band: DEATH VALLEY GIRLS
Who: Garage rock amazons from Los Angeles,
led by high priestess Bonnie Bloomgarden

Album: UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY – 4th LP
Released: 9 October 2020

Info: “The initial inspiration for the record came from the jubilant spirit of Ethiopian
funk records but once they began to channel the songs it seemed like the music came from somewhere not in the past but in the future. In the weeks leading up to recording, Death Valley Girls relied on their subconscious and effortlessly conjured Under the Spell
of Joy’s eleven tracks as if they’d tapped into the Akasha Chronicle and pulled the music from the ether.”

Bonnie Bloomgarden: “This idea that joy is different than happiness or anything else. It’s a state. It’s like a place. It allows space, and being with joy makes it so that you’re not reactive.
You go about yourself, go about the world, and walk around. Joy kind of gives you a distance between yourself and with what’s happening so you’re not reactive. You’re just going with the flow in a way. It meant so much to all of us. We were just like, ‘That makes so much sense! We
are under the spell of the potential for joy and the possibility for joy.’”

Read the full Bloomgarden interview with New Noise Magazine here.

(photo: Turn Up The Volume!)

Turn Up The Volume: Death Valley Girls travel from their beloved graveyards into space for some encounters of the third kind, accompanied by an angelic choir and David Bowie, the Man who fell to Earth, on saxophone. It’s a 2020 Odyssey taking you to the bright side
of the moon and beyond while gospel spirituals and organ-driven symphonies soundtrack the trance-like journey. A far-out experience in a safe(r) place up there, sky-high. Ground control to Major Bonnie: “You’ve really made the grade“. Mission accomplished.

Singles: Hypnagogia / Hold My Hand / Under The Spell Of Joy / The Universe

– HYPNAGOGIA –

– HOLD MY HAND –

– UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY –

– THE UNIVERSE –

Stream/buy full album here…

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DEATH VALLEY GIRLS: Facebook

Turn Up The Volume’s 15 KNOCKOUT TRACKS For September 2020

Posted on September 30 by TUTV!

This past month’s best…

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A swirling fusion of rhapsodic rippers and cool crackerjacks,
that activated my bloodstream and my limbs this past month!
Turn Up The Volume‘s 15 Knockout Tracks for September!

‘Under The Spell Of Joy’ by DEATH VALLEY GIRLS (Los Angeles, US)
L.A.’s garage devils surprise with this gospel stunner. Polyphonic choir, booming beats, crazed sax, towering tune, and a mental finale. The title track from their fourth album coming your way this Friday, October 2. Can’t wait!

‘So What’ by MEMES (Glasgow, Scotland)
Post-punk mavericks strike again. This new cut is more infectious than that horrible coronavirus, deeper carving than a Swiss knife, 103 seconds of high-energy swagger.
New EP in November via Fierce Panda.

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‘The Rise And Fall Of America’ by THE MOODS (England)
It’s this British collective’s towering take on the bombastic American National Anthem with razor-sharp lines and an addictive chant. They rock, roar and rage. Enough is enough! Play this on repeat until the elections in November. Make America, America again. It’s not too late! Vote that orange out!

‘American Dream’ by TOKYO TABOO (England)
‘Dumb Trump’ is the loud and clear message. These high-voltage noiseniks squeeze that orange idiot into pulp in 4 minutes and visualize their disgust with both a hilarious and frightening video clip. About time this buffoon gets kicked out of the White House!

‘Leon The Pig Farmer’ by CABBAGE (England)
These post-punk gunslingers describe their racket as Apocalyptic Sprautrock. Sounds
totally 2020 to my ears. This new amazeballs brain-breaker races like a hot rod on
the run without slowing down for a second. Bang-up stonker!

‘Psychopath’s Monologue’ by THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA (It/Sing)
A soundtrack for an unmade David Lynch movie. Chemical bros beats, Leftfield bangs, industrial uppercuts and a nightmarish spoken-word sermon all over it. Sonic paranoia
for a baffled world in an ongoing virus crisis. Doomsday is just around the corner.

‘Tokyo Music Experience’ by RATS ON RAFTS (The Netherlands)
An electrical punch-sucker driven by hyperkinetic guitars, manic vocals, and a relentless beat sounding like legendary weirdos Devo are back with some fervent firepower. Expect to be totally puzzled after just one spin. You can get satisfaction here, folks!

‘Land Based Antics’ by STRUGGLES WITH SYNTAX (London)
A rage-against-the-machine motherrocker, a smash and clash crossover stormer, a
nasty rap brain-breaker, a brutal thwack challenging you to bang your head against
the wall while pulling your hair out. A volcanic spit and sneer eruption.

‘Moment In The Sun’ by SUNFLOWER BEAN (Brooklyn/NY)
Perfect pop play! Catchy as hell, totally uplifting and mood-boosting. Funky and groovy.
An earworm to listen to in your bath, in your car, at work, in the pub, and in your bed.

‘Truth II’ by BEND SINISTER (Vancouver, British Columbia)
A rambling, rumbling, rollicking and roaring ripsnorter with a scream along on the top of your lungs chorus demanding the truth. C’mon Bully Trump and Boris the Clown, stop
lying 24/7, you twin idiots.

‘7 Seconds’ by PORRIDGE RADIO (Brighton, England)
Earlier this year this amazing Dana Margolin fronted band released their contender-for-best-album-of-the-year tour de force Every Bad, they shine again on this brand new melodic humdinger.

‘Docker Martins’ by ARCO ARENA (Ireland)
A riff-loaded crackerjack that triggers your Saturday nightmare fever moves. Funky as
fuck and sickly sticky from start to finish. A kick-ass hammer sharp as a serrated knife challenging you to fight for your right to be the last man standing. Yeahhh!

‘Serotonin‘ by VIOLENT VICKIE (Long Beach, CA)
Put your Goth outfit, dim the lights, and trip on this pitch-black synthscape with
Vickie wildly yearning for lost love and lust. You’ll get goosebumps when listening
to this petrifying cry out on your headphones. Time to kick your evil demons out
of your bedroom!

‘We Are Chaos’ by MARILYN MANSON (Ohio, US)
Yes, the self-proclaimed ‘God of Fuck’ still walks the planet. No, he didn’t move yet
to his real home in hell. And the title track is a massive sing-along pop (yes, ‘pop’)
anthem celebrating what we became: CHAOS in these surreal virus times.

‘Cotton Fish (A Dream)’ by JAY CRAFTON (Toronto, Canada)
Don’t really know much about this Canadian musician and record producer just that his new (instrumental) single is a spellbinding guitar-driven jam with a relaxing effect on my mindset. Pretty special. Pretty dreamy.

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All together now on Spotify…

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See/hear you next month, music junkies…

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COMING SOON! ‘Under The Spell Of Joy’ By L.A. Rockers DEATH VALLEY GIRLS – Out 2 October

Posted on September 24 by TUTV!

Band: DEATH VALLEY GIRLS
Who: Garage rock fury from Los Angeles
Album: UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY – 4th LP
Release: 2 October 2020 – Pre-order facilities here

“While singer and multi-instrumentalist Bonnie Bloomgarden and guitarist Larry Schemel knew their intention for the album before a single note was written, the actual nature and direction of the music was a mystery. The initial inspiration for the record came from the jubilant spirit of Ethiopian funk records the band had been listening to on tour, but once they began to channel the songs it seemed like the music came from somewhere not in the past but in the future.”

Singles: Hold My Hand / Under The Spell Of Joy / The Universe

– HOLD MY HAND –

– UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY –

– THE UNIVERSE –

DEATH VALLEY GIRLS: Facebook

Five Firecrackers To STAY ON TRACK IN THE WEEKEND!

Posted on September 18 by TUTV!

18 September / 20 September 2020

Five new firecrackers to bang-up your favorite 48 hours…

‘Under The Spell Of Joy’ by DEATH VALLEY GIRLS (Los Angeles)
I just love this!! Big choir, booming beats, far-out sax, titanic tune, crazy finale. Surprise, surprise. It’s Death Valley Girls. Yes, the coolest graveyard garage rock band on the planet used to put a nightmarish spell on you, not one of joy. Listen up, you’ll love this too! FUN!

LE POPE 2066 (Aka Remix) by LEG PUPPY (South London)
Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha Hahaha

‘Moment In The Sun’ by SUNFLOWER BEAN
The NYC darlings return with a perfect piece of passionate pop. By far the best thing
they ever put on record, to my ears. Funky, sparkling, and sickly sticky. A 24-Karat hit!

‘7 Seconds’ by PORRIDGE RADIO (Brigthon,UK)
Earlier this year this amazing Dana Margolin fronted band released their contender-for-best-album-of-the-year tour de force Every Bad and they shine again on this brand new catchy stunner.

‘Get Famous’ by THE MOUNTAIN GOATS (North Carolina, US)
This steamy horns driven stroke compresses the Mountain Goats’ fervor into
a backhanded benediction, a three-minute pop entreaty to reach for the stars.
Their new album ‘Getting Into Knives‘ arrives 23rd October via Merge Records.

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See/hear you newt week, music junkies…

Turn Up The Volume’s 15 KNOCKOUT TRACKS For AUGUST 2020…

Posted on September 1 by TUTV!

This past month’s best…

Fifteen Knockout Tracks on repeat this past month!
A fervent fusion of robust rippers and striking strokes.
Here’s Turn Up The Volume‘s Knockout August Team.

‘Vote That Fucker Out‘ by WRECKLESS ERIC and AMY RIGBY (UK/US)
An anger-fueled uppercut, the whole wide world should scream along. A firm middle-finger knockout. Let’s get together and shout at the top of our lungs until the elections
in November. Exit Trump is the world-saving goal, ladies and gents! Let’s act! Let’s sing…

‘A Hero’s Death’ by FONTAINES D.C. (Ireland)
Rollicking title track from the Irish post-punk misfits’ second album.
An unquestionable contender for longplayer of this science-fiction-like 2020.

‘Hail Taxi’ by METZ (Canada)
These Canadians deafening noiseniks have slash and trash chromosomes in their DNA. Don’t even try to resist this wall-balls-breaker, just surrender. New LP Atlas Vending arrives 9th October.

‘Fixer Upper’ by YARD ACT (Leeds, UK)
A mind-twisting crackerjack that’ll do your head in the way you like it. This funky as bloody hell banger sounds as if Mike Skinner and Sleaford Mods joined forces to experiment with intoxicating guitar riffs and turn up the decibels on for once. Cuts like a Swiss knife…

‘Hold My Hand’ by DEATH VALLEY GIRLS (Los Angeles)
Gloriously catchy, peppery and poppy with a cool vintage organ, shake and swing beats, 60s garage glow and Bonnie Bloomberg‘s peek-a-boo vocals. “Love is just like the ocean.”

‘You Say’ by MADAME SO (Paris/London)
A spunky standout. A warning message for all hostile killjoys out there. Kicking off
with a powered guitar riff, soon followed by Madame So‘s vox hitting the roof with
the titanic You Say chorus. Smoking stuff, ladies and gents…

‘The Soul Singer’ by THE WATERBOYS (Scotland)
High-energy stroke! A horns fueled belter from amplified folk troubadour
Mike Scott and his band’s new – fourteenth – solid album Good Luck, Seeker.

‘Late At A Festival’ by BLUE STRAGGLERS (Sussex, UK)
Razorblade melodiousness drenched in a pool of kamikaze guitars, going forth and black like a roller coaster on the run. Blur‘s Britpop flair pumped up with tons of illegal decibels. Don’t come late at a festival with Blue Stragglers on the bill or they will find you and make you beg for mercy. You have been warned!…

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‘Trump’s Still In Washington’ by BROKEN SOCIAL CONTRACT (Washington, US)
A razor-sharp rant about that 24/7 idiot in the White House. One-man-band
Justin Donnelly delivers the fitting belter to ventilate our own fury. Play it loud,
play it on repeat, play it until a new real POTUS arrives in Washington.

‘Everybody Will Be Forgotten’ by FAST FRIENDS (Bay Area/Boston/Denmark)
This paranoia punk punch sounds like Weezer on dope, like Green Day kicking that
American Idiot in the face, like the mental result of a lockdown psychosis, like if there
is no tomorrow. Jump and yell along before it’s too late. Right now, right here…

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‘Forever’ by FOLK DEVILS (London)
Once a devoted indie rocker always a devoted indie rocker. Even are all these years you can hear and feel this band’s beating heart and feverish soul burning with strong-willed bravado and hungry desire. Dynamite sound, dynamite tune. Seems like Folk Devils are back forever despite the taste of life going wrong…

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‘My Faith Is Larger’ by SAVING JACKIE (San Antonio, US)
A hot-tempered sucker-slam triggering every single nerve, every single muscle, and every single vein in your shuddering body. If you’re still mourning the loss of Rage Against The Machine, dry your eyes, rise from your bed, and go mental to Saving Jackie. Now!…

‘Burn’ by TEROUZ (Montreal)
This stunner wouldn’t be out if place on a Sisters Of Mercy album, while Terouz’s voice balances between Interpol‘s maestro Paul Banks and Editors‘ frontman Tom Smith.
Get up, stand up, and pirouette yourself dizzy…

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‘Dirty Little Sinner’ by REGENT (Southampton)
This cracker blends Oasis‘ northern flair and Blur‘s power-pop catchiness. A steaming kinetic stomper to play to the max on your stereo so the neighbours can jump around
like doped monkeys too when the boiling chorus kicks in. Pump your fists in the air…

‘It’s OK To Bleed’ by HEAVY SALAD (Manchester, UK)
A trippy, mantra-like chant that will set your free. Light a joint, steal your grandparents’ hippie outfits and join Heavy Salad up there, eight miles high and dream of better times…

All together on Spotify…

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See/hear you next month, music junkies…

Second Single From New Album – DEATH VALLEY GIRLS Want To Hold Hands

Posted on August 20 by TUTV!

Daily fuel to load your sonic batteries…

20 August 2020

(photo by Turn Up The Volume! Belgium 2019)

Two years after splendid LP Darkness Rains Los Angeles‘ garage rock amazons
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS gear up a for a new one called UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY.

The new single HOLD MY HAND is online now. The group’s leading lady Bonnie Bloomgarden says: “Any relationship you have is an opportunity to make an agreement
with yourself! It’s a chance to learn to be more compassionate and to grow stronger and
more powerfully into the person you want to be and are meant to be! Hopefully, the other person will help along the way and grow with you! If not, peace and next, please.”

Hold My Hand is a rare love-relationship song. It’s gloriously catchy and peppery
poppy, and it works perfectly. A cool vintage DVG organ, shake and swing rhythms,
60s garage beat glow, Bloomberg‘s characteristic vocals, an electrifying guitar sequence, and a sticky chorus. I wonder if The Beatles would hold hands with the Girls? Anyway
‘love is just like the ocean.”

Start the beat…

In case you missed it here’s lead-single The Universe…

DEATH VALLEY GIRLS: Facebook

New album UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY out October 2 – more info here

The Superhumans Are Out There – Here’s New Single ‘THE UNIVERSE’ By DEATH VALLEY GIRLS

Posted on July 25 by TUTV!

Daily fuel to load your sonic batteries…

25 July 2020

After spell-binding album Darkness Rains, their third album released two years
Los Angeles garage rock devils DEATH VALLEY GIRLS return from their graves
to record new longplayer UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY.

The band’s wonderful prima donna Bonnie Bloomgarden revealed details
about the new LP, besides the fact that it was inspired Ethiopian funk, in a
statement: “‘Under the Spell of Joy’ is a space-gospel record. We believe we served
as channels for what we think are guides. As we learn what the songs are about we
realize they are meant to be sang like chants, hymns, or spells. Most of the songs
were recorded with 12 voices, including a kids choir! We are learning that words with
intention and energy hold so much power, especially when said or sang with a group.”

Lead-single THE UNIVERSE “is a song to sing, a space to be, a time to think, remember,
and truly feel that not only are we all connected, but we are also being guided.”.

The grandly organ orchestrated and sax-stirring sound tells me that this far-out reflection is about the Death Valley Girls own universe. A still uncovered place in rock space where nothing is what it looks like or resonates like, where the band secretly prepares future actions for their ultimate goal: world domination. Yes, THEY are the vampire loving superhumans who actually guide us, the unsuspecting eartborns. Trust me, their next sonic move will disclose more about their master plan.

For now, try to unravel this ominous chant…

Also on Spotify…

DEATH VALLEY GIRLS: Facebook

New album UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY out October 2 – more info here

(pic on top via band DVG)

‘GLOW IN THE DARK’ By California’s Garage Engine DEATH VALLEY GIRLS

Posted on April 25 by TUTV!

Old and new albums to make your day…

25 April 2020

Let’s go back today to 2016, to my favorite DEATH VALLEY GIRLS album ‘GLOW IN THE DARK‘. A boiling record with blazing rock bangers such as Death Valley Boogie, Disco, and I’m A Man Too. Never a dull moment with utterly cool front lady Bonnie Bloomgarden and her turbulent gang who combine The Stooges‘ raw power, The Cramps‘ rockabilly lunacy, and Black Sabbath‘s metallic insanity while injecting the whole hullabaloo with a voodoo-ish sense of humor. Rollicking electricity is what you get, going berserk is what you should do. Right here, right now…