Breakthrough

Description

Los Angeles’ Death Valley Girls have made a name for themselves delivering a desert-blasted blend of riotous proto-punk and primal heavy metal infused with cosmic idealism and third-eye consciousness. Their first new offering since ripping a hole in the sky with their 2018 album Darkness Rains comes in the form of a seven-inch, seven-song single, “Breakthrough.” The title track is an Atomic Rooster cover, though the band discovered the song through a rendition by Nigerian outfit The Funkees. With its grungy guitar riffs, fire-and-brimstone organ and combative chorus, it’s as if the song was originally written with Death Valley Girls’ stark brand of transcendental rock in mind. But it wasn’t just the pulse and melody that drew the band to the song. “It spoke to me because of the lyrics of breaking free from an invisible prison…we all have invisible or visible prisons we are trapped in,” explains vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Bonnie Bloomgarden. The song’s discovery coincided with the band’s interest in West Memphis 3’s Damien Echols and his ability to endure his imprisonment by learning astral projection through meditation. The b-side is another cover – a sped up version of Daniel Johnston’s loud-quiet-loud anthem “Rock ’N’ Roll / EGA.” It’s full-throttle rage, but it’s also a bittersweet song for Death Valley Girls as they had the rare privilege of briefly serving as Johnston’s backing band. Ultimately, both songs hold a deep and profound connection to Death Valley Girls, both in spirit and in their auditory alignment.