As a genre, rock ‘n’ roll has had numerous tired clichés attached to it over the years, with perhaps none as outdated as the assumption that it’s a man’s world.
Whereas women were previously relegated to little more than the object of a lecherous frontman’s desires, perhaps occasionally deserving of a catchy chorus or a power ballad, recent years have seen women spraying a proverbial pepper spray into the eyes of the male gaze, simultaneously breathing much-needed life into a genre that was in massive danger of becoming limp and stale.
For the best part of a decade, Death Valley Girls have been one such band, blowing both critics and audiences away with their riotous live performances and equally explosive records.
Based in Los Angeles, Death Valley Girls started out with a fairly simple mission statement: To meet their idol Iggy Pop whilst playing simple, fuzzed-out garage-rock ‘n’ roll. Having caught his attention by 2018 (Iggy described the band as “a gift to the world” and was featured eating a cheeseburger in the video for ‘Disaster (Is What We’re After)’), the band decided their purpose from there on was to “remind the punks, psych-rockers, garage aficionados and desert mystics of the communal, transcendental and triumphant power of music.”
What has followed has seen the band expand their sound from the initial primitive garage-punk stomp of their earlier records, now incorporating searing organs and sax freak-outs in a similar vein to Funhouse era Stooges, with vocalist Bonnie Bloomgarden’s lyrics taking on an esoteric, occult heavy mysticism paying homage to her philosophical heroes such as Mitch Horowitz.
Their latest full length, 2020’s ‘Under The Spell of Joy’, is a spiralling, psychedelic cacophony, sounding something like a late ’60s Laurel Canyon communal jam session if it took place amidst the sleaze and punk-rock chic of ’70s Times Square, New York, with an added slab of classic bubblegum-pop melody to boot.
Thus far, 2022 has seen renowned avant-pop sensation Peaches remix their single ‘When I’m Free’, taking their music off the stage and onto the dance floor and introducing new audiences to their self-styled “space gospel”.
The group also embark on a European tour which sees them play at The Cluny in Newcastle on Thursday 16th June in what promises to be a true rock ‘n’ roll spectacle.
Tickets, priced at £12.00 in advance, are available from thecluny.com.
