Top image: photography by Michael Haight

Formed by core members Bonnie Bloomgarden and Larry Schemel, Death Valley Girls have become something of a “travelling caravan” (their own words) in recent years. Tapping friends and fellow musicians for their relentless touring schedule, the group are able to morph and adapt in tune with each moment – growing and shrinking with an organic energy. The result of this transient DNA? A badass sound that is set to wax before the distortion has time to fade.

Their newly released third record, Darkness Rains, builds on this philosophy. A spooky blueprint of their kooky world, as they stomp and slur through their Death Valley boogie, they tune us into psychic, supernatural energies and twisted soundscapes – allowing us see what they see, feel what they feel. And that’s the clincher here, drop the needle and you’re pulled directly into the band’s holistic universe. So, choosing to delve even deeper, we set them the task of curating five points of inspiration that feed directly into their output. From krautrock beats to horror freaks, here’s your chance to get lost in the world of the Death Valley Girls.

MUSIC

“Right now we’re really into a Japanese band called Kikagaku Moyo. They just released a new album called Masana Temples and we’ve been listening to that a lot on the road. It’s great music for traveling – a cool mix of krautrock, heavy psychedelic and drone music.”

ART

“Oliver Hibert is our favourite artist right now, he’s created his own unique world of Day-Glo colours, rainbows and bizarre alien landscapes. He’s worked with Flaming Lips and Wooden Shjips among others.”

 PLACE

“Texas! American culture is inspiring to us right now because of the strange political climate in the US. It’s good to see and hear people coming together, and none more so than in Austin, TX.”

FILM

“We’ve been going back to watch Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby and William Friedkin’s The Exorcist a lot recently. We have a DVD player in our tour van to watch stuff on the road. And we watched them during our favourite time of year for movies, the Halloween month of October!”

ANYTHING

“Goldendoodles!”

Death Valley Girls’ new record, Darkness Rains, is out now via Suicide Squeeze Records.