Ears Wide Open: Death Valley Girls

Daiana Feuer on April 27th, 2016

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Self-described as an “acid-tripping science experiment that’s been buried alive and resurrected as a sexually liberated dystopian chain-gang,” Death Valley Girls come on like an alien invasion of black leather-clad rebels from Planet X. “Glow In The Dark” might be a symptom from exposure to their glam-punk revelry, a song as much as an after-effect. As the story goes, Bonnie Bloomgarden (formerly of The Witnesses) spent a year in a mental institution making friends with ghosts, listening to Black Sabbath and UFO, reading about alien conspiracies and watching movies like “Switchblade Sisters.” A few years ago, she and guitarist Larry Schemel got lost in the desert and returned to their haunted garage in Echo Park and started the band. Then came their drummer, known only as “The Kid,” and most recently they’ve added bassist Nikki Pickle, who they found on another desert journey in Arizona. Is this a good story or what? Their new album, “Glow In The Dark,” the follow-up to their debut “Street Venom,” comes out June 10 on Burger Records, and includes guest appearances by Jessie Jones (ex-Feeding People), Bobby May (ex-Gap Dream) and Laena Geronimo of Feels. Guess what it’s about? Mummies and conspiracies, naturally.

||| Stream: “Glow In The Dark”