Le Butcherettes + Death Valley Girls split single, limited edition iridescent blue Inner Ascension variant. 2022. Suicide Squeeze Records. This past Friday was DVG’s front woman Bonnie Bloomgarden’s birthday (August 25th, I have no idea how old she is, my guess is in her 40’s?). Side A is Le Butcherettes’ (garage punk band from Mexico who formed in the 00’s) “The Universe,” a haunting, almost a cappella rendition of the Death Valley Girls original from their 2020 LP Under the Spell of Joy. Side B is the Death Valley Girls excellent psych-rocker track “When I’m Free” which highlights all the best DVG have to offer: swagger, swirling keyboards and killer rhythm. There’s a digital-only dance remix of the “When I’m Free” done by none other than Peaches. From their Bandcamp: “Under Peaches’ meticulous care, “When I’m Free” transforms from a scrappy rock song to a throbbing, minimalist club banger. The musical key switches from major to minor, taking the song from celebratory mode into a leaner and meaner message of empowerment. Bloomgarden’s impassioned vocals remain in place along with a few organ glissandos, though the rest of the original is excised in favor of stark four-on-the-floor beats and pulsing synth bass. The sound may prompt a different type of gyration than the original, but the spirit of freedom and revelry remains and takes on a whole new angle under Peaches’ masterful manipulations.”