We’ve only been waiting a little over two years with bated breath for “Darkness Rains“, the third release from California’s Death Valley Girls; anxious only because after the promise of 2014’s “Street Venom” and the astounding “Glow in the Dark” back in 2016, it seemed like it could be a tall order to move the dial.
Well it may be a cliché to say a band is evolving, finding themselves, maturing if you will, but “Darkness Rains” finds DVG reaching another level.
The third album can be a difficult hurdle for an artist; it’s the record where they discover what they are made of often writing from a clean slate. Just as Led Zeppelin’s third album or The Clash with “London Calling” found the iconic bands hitting their stride, “Darkness Rains” hits the target for DVG.
The ten tracks here showcase a band that has a shitload of confidence in their writing and sound, shedding a touch of the fuzzy garage rawness of “Glow in the Dark” for a tighter, leaner more glammed out Stooges-proto-metal hell-spawn type of rock and roll.
Psychedelic haze, giant arena rock riffs, scuzzed-out wah-wah solos from Larry Schemel litter practically every song, with vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Bonnie Bloomgarden’s banshee wail leading wicked sing-along choruses. Bassist Alana Amram and drummer Laura Harris combine for a gut punch of a rhythm section.
It’s gothic, it’s psychedelic, it’s hypnotic, it’s rock and roll. “Darkness Rains” is an omnipotent force and Death Valley Girls are on the cusp of something big.
TOUR
10/14
Lake Perris, CA @ Desert Daze
10/18
Riverside, CA @ Aurea Vista
10/19
Las Vegas, NV @ Bunkhouse Saloon
10/20
Tempe, AZ
@ Yucca Tap Room
10/21
Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
10/23
Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas
10/24
Dallas, TX @ Regal Room
10/25
Norman, OK @ Opolis
10/26
Memphis, TN @ The Hi Tone
10/29
Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
10/30
Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
10/31
New York, NY @ Knockdown Center, Haunted Hop
11/01
New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
11/02
Cleveland, OH @ The Winchester
11/03
Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx
11/04
Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
11/05
Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
11/07
Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
11/08
Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
11/09
Boise, ID @ The Olympic
11/11
Chico, CA @ Duffy’s
11/13
Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
11/14
Vancouver, BC @ Fox Cabaret
11/15
Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
11/16
Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival
11/17
Eugene, OR @ Old Nicks
11/20
San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
