Death Valley Girls is an American rock band formed in 2013 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. The band consists of vocalist and keyboardist Bonnie Bloomgarden, guitarist Heather Nation, bassist Sarah Linton, and drummer Rikki Styxx.

History

Death Valley Girls was formed in 2013 by

Patty Schemel Patricia Theresa Schemel (born April 24, 1967) is an American drummer and musician who rose to prominence as the drummer of alternative rock band Hole from 1992 until 1998. Born in Los Angeles, Schemel was raised in rural Marysville, Washington, ...

, her brother Larry Schemel, Rachel Orosco, and Bonnie Bloomgarden after the group needed "something safe to do that wasn't AA". Patty Schemel left the band after the release of their debut album ''Street Venom'' in 2014, an album which received praise for its raw

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

sound and what ''Flood Magazine'' described as "doom-boogie, psych-pop". Laura Kelsey replaced Patty on drums for ''Street Venom''. In 2016, the band released ''Glow in the Dark'', with Alana Amram replacing Rachel Orosco and Jessie Jones joining the band as a co-vocalist. In 2018, the band began working with Seattle-based label

Suicide Squeeze Records Suicide Squeeze Records is a Seattle, Washington-based independent record label that releases rock, pop, and metal music. Suicide Squeeze releases content on vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital. The label has also released comedy and performance a ...

, releasing their 2018 album ''Darkness Rains'' and ''Under the Spell of Joy'' (2020) under the label. Thanks to these albums, Death Valley Girls received critical acclaim for their memorable stage performances and dynamic mix of garage rock, punk, and psych rock. ''Under the Spell of Joy'' saw Rikki Styxx as the new drummer and Nicole "Pickle" Smith added as a bassist. In 2023, the band released their album, ''Islands in the Sky''.

Brooklyn Vegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, United States and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, ...

reported that ''Islands'' is "loaded with catchy psych-rock affirmations to the future." This album also saw the lineup reaching the form of Larry Schemel, Bonnie Bloomgarden, Sammy Westervelt, and Rikki Styxx. Death Valley Girls have performed at several notable music festivals, including Desert Daze and Levitation Festival.

Musical style

Death Valley Girls' music is characterized by a blend of

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, psych rock,

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

, and elements of

surf rock Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...

and 1960s

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

s. The band's live performances focus around Bloomgarden's vocals and on-stage theatricality.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Street Venom'' (2014) * ''Glow in the Dark'' (2016) * ''Darkness Rains'' (2018) * ''Under the Spell of Joy'' (2020) * ''Islands in the Sky'' (2023)

EPs

* ''Death Valley Girls'' (2013) * ''Electric High'' (2014) * ''Breakthrough'' (2020) * ''The Universe'' (2022)

Singles

* "When I'm Free (Peaches Remix)" (2012) * "It's All Really Kind of Amazing" (2021)

References

{{Authority control Garage rock groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 2013 Suicide Squeeze Records artists