Death Valley Girls are a garage punk band that describes its music as “California dread boogie.” Its hard, fuzzy sound combines bad-trip psychedelia and biker-soundtrack drama with lyrics that celebrate a wide range of dubious activities. Early albums like 2014’s Street Venom and 2016’s Glow in the Dark were characterized by buzzy lead guitars, powerful and primitive drumming, and Bonnie Bloomgarden’s assertive vocal stylings. On the albums Islands in the Sky, released in 2023, and Under the Spell of Joy, released in 2020, the band’s attack got slightly more refined, their hard rock influences became more apparent, and an echoing atmospheric production gave new layers to their music.
In 2013, Death Valley Girls were established in Los Angeles, California. The band’s original line-up was bassist Rachel Orosco, guitarist Larry Schemel (formerly of Lucid Nation), drummer Patty Schemel (who had previously performed with Hole and Juliette and the Licks), and lead vocalist Bonnie Bloomgarden (a former member of the Witnesses). They made a low-key debut in 2014 with the cassette-only, uncredited release of Street Venom. When they issued the song “Electric High” b/w “Gettin’ Hard” later that year, Patty Schemel had already departed the group and Laura Kelsey (formerly of the Flytraps) had taken over on drums. Further lineup changes were noted on their second studio album, Glow in the Dark, which was released in 2016. Alana Amram took Rachel Orosco’s place as their bassist, while Jessie Jones joined to sing with Bloomgarden. The band’s debut album on Suicide Squeeze Records, Darkness Rains, came out in 2018, and it featured the song “Disaster (Is What We’re Seeking).” Iggy Pop gave the song an impressive nod in the music video while enjoying a fast food burger. Levitation Sessions, a limited-edition live cassette that was recorded at a performance at the Cone in Los Angeles, was published by them in 2020.