Death Valley Girls “Street Venom” 2014/2021. Limited edition (200 copies) “Eye of the Beholder” colored vinyl. DVG’s debut album, originally released on cassette (Burger Records). Fuzzy garage punk with grungy riot grrrl and psycho-surf energy (Hole’s drummer Patty Schemel was in the band and performs on the record), Street Venom is as fantastic as DVG’s subsequent releases. “Sanitarium Blues,” one of my favorite tracks, is about singer/keyboardist Bonnie Bloomgarden’s stint in an actual sanitarium. From her Instagram: “When I was a kid, I ended up in a mental institution! I eventually found out that I am bipolar and extremely empathetic. Life just got too intense/scary to know how to deal with alone! I didn’t know how to get help or that help would work.” Other top tracks include the buzzy garage ass-shakers “Shadow” and “Girlfriend.” This reissue/deluxe version includes two songs not on the original 2014 cassette release but were a limited edition 7″ single in 2015: “Electric High” and “Gettin’ Hard” and both are an excellent addition to the LP.