The new release from Death Valley Girls continues their melding of dreamy psych excursions, 50’s girl group pop, and garage rock riffs, as the Los Angeles-based outfit delivers the goods with Islands in the Sky.
The core group of Bonnie Bloomgarden – vocals/organ/guitar, Larry Schemel – guitar, Rikki Styxx – drums/vocals, and Sammy Westervelt – bass/vocals have shaved off their harder punk edges, but remain on the same cosmic wavelength, bringing in Gregg Foreman – synth/Wurlitzer/Hammond organ, Gabe Flores – saxophone and Mark Rains – percussion, to flush out the spiritual sounds.
A buzzing/pulsing intro of mysterious vocals and ominous drums greet the listener on album opener “California Mountain Shake” as the band keeps their fluttering psych rock flowing, adding swelling strings and a sense of lost love to close the swirling track. Shifting gears they pump up the shimmy and shaking on the new wavey jam “Magic Powers” before the group lay down a garage rock foundation, only to soar away from it via intriguing harmonies and rising anthemic pop on the dynamic title track.
The winners keep arriving, supported by the electro keys and sax work displayed on the dramatic “Sunday” which gets punky to close, and the rumbling low end of the drifting in the cosmos space out of “Journey to Dog Star”. The killer standout is the Buzzcocks meets Madonna, simulation questioning banger, “What Are The Odds” which uses chainsaw guitars and rollicking piano, along with laser blasts and huge choruses to knock the listeners’ socks off.
The second half of the album is a touch of a comedown, but still noteworthy as “Say It Too” goes for more of a ballad feel while “All Is Not Me” floats by without any lasting feelings. However, efforts like the driving beat of the vibrating “Watch The Sky” and the harmonies meet big, banging electro sounds of “When I Am Free” and anthemic closer “It’s All Really Kind of Amazing” seal the deal on this engaging release.
Death Valley Girls have softened musically with each release, adding more pop influences, and digging more into the spiritual hippy cosmos of the we-are-all-in-this-together vibe. They also have continually improved, as Islands in the Sky is their best album to date.
