Our pick of the albums reviewed on these pages this week is Under The Spell Of Joy, the new album from Death Valley Girls – here’s your chance to revisit the review and check out the LP via Spotify.
“Death Valley is an area of northern California regarded as one of the most hostile to humans on earth. It’s three thousand square miles of oven.”
“Incorporating that into your name is therefore the boldest of plays unless you’re churning out black metal or some sort of weird nosebleed techno – neither of which is Death Valley Girls’ thing. So…”
“In fact, the Girls also hail from California, albeit the more hospitable area of San Diego, but are now residents in L.A.. Originally a project formed by ex Hole drummer Patty Schemel and her brother Larry, they recruited singer Bonnie Bloomgarden, and since Patty’s departure have now solidified their line-up with the additions of Laura ‘The Kid’ Kelsey and Nikki Pickle. Taking their gothic cues from heritage acts such as Black Sabbath, The Velvet Underground and The Cramps, the quartet have been responsible for the Street Venom, Glow In The Dark and Darkness Reigns albums since 2014.”