Band Of The Week #123 - Death Valley Girls
This week’s Band of the Week is Los Angeles glam rockers Death Valley Girls - who have just released their EP ‘Breakthrough’ via Suicide Squeeze. Taking influence from the occult and dystopian punk to create their own unique blend of desert rock. The band took a moment to talk to us in more depth about the EP.
Hey there! How are you? So the EP is out now - how does it feel?
Hi! We are ok! There’s so very much going on in the world and so much to learn. We are just trying to focus on learning and growing every day.
It is called ‘Breakthrough’, is there a meaning behind that title?
Yeah! We were obsessed with this Nigerian psych compilation from the 70s. Our favorite song was this song “Breakthrough” we thought it was by The Funkees. Later, when we went to record it, we found out it was a cover of an Atomic Rooster song!
The title track takes some influence from Damien Echols - can you tell us a bit more about that connection?
On that tour that we were listening to that compilation, we were also reading Damien Echols’ “High Magick.” We love the way he describes meditation and magick and how to use your mind to overcome anything, particularly how it altered his experience on Death Row. Since the song is about escaping an invisible prison, we decided to record it for him!
This is your first collection of songs since your debut album ‘Darkness Rains’, how do you feel the two releases differ?
“Breakthrough” is a bridge to our next LP. We had seven people join (the four of us that sing) on vocals for this, and you are meant to sing along with us. From now on, we make music to sing to!
Where was the EP recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the record process?
We always record at Station House Studio in Los Angeles with Mark Rains. Our friend Will Scott joined us on drums, and we had a gang choir of Alice Bag, Kelsey Hart, Emily Restas, Asa O’Brien, Hannah Pierce, Zepha Ober, and Jett Johnston.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
I think chanting “I gotta make a breakthrough” with ten other people is extraordinarily powerful! That’s my favorite.
Now the EP is out there, what next?
Learning, loving, putting out new music, hopefully touring and playing soon :)