Death Valley Girls “Under the Spell of Joy” released today, October 2nd 2020, on Suicide Squeeze Records, limited edition (300 copies) on silver vinyl. If you aren’t listening to Death Valley Girls – why the hell not?!!? Their new release is the best  record I’ve heard this year (granted, I’m not getting out that much, but still, it’s AMAZING). Self-described as “space-gospel,” the Death Valley Girls are dark Bansheesque post-punk mixed with heavy psychedelic garage rock (complete with 60′s style organ), mixed with a Wall of Sound 60′s girl group flavor (see “Bliss Out”) whose songs are at times hypnotic and ethereal while also seriously ass-shaking. Basically everything I love in a band!!! I just got this in the mail two days ago (I pre-ordered it so scored it early) and it pretty much hasn’t left the turntable since. I could listen to several of the tracks on their new LP over and over and over: My top tracks: “Hold My Hand” (super-catchy!), the title track “Under the Spell of Joy” (stomping garage rock meets saxophone solo!), “It All Washes Away” (Jagger-level maracas, organ AND saxophone! a heavy heavy stomper), “10 Day Miracle Challenge” (hard driving garage punk) and the final track “Dream Cleaver” (super-psychedelic and highly danceable; it flows into an endless runout groove unintelligible chant which forces you out of your trance to get up and pick up the needle, only to set it right back down again at the start of the record): check out its witchy video here: