Darkness Rains

If Charlie's Spahn Ranch girls had formed a band that was part-Stooges, part-Bikini Kill, all groove. [Nov 2018, p.85]

Musically, the group’s sound is looser and more ferocious than some of its contemporaries, embracing atonal saxophone à la X-Ray Spex and swaggering scuzz-rock riffs along with the psychedelic guitar, sinister organ, and heavy, pounding drums you’d expect from a garage-rock revival band.

The initial impression given by Death Valley Girls’ third album is of a hypertypical Los Angeles band: kinda punky, kinda raucous, but wholly beholden to the rock canon, in the style of past-decade LA outfits like The Icarus Line and The Warlocks. Multiple spins of Darkness Rains don’t refute this, but do reveal an undeniable spirit and likeable energy. [Nov 2018, p.65]

It certainly doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s a committed, charming throwback to the early years post-millennium, when rock did one of its perennial about-faces, away from prog-y electronica and back to the days when wearing leather and ripped white or red t-shirts was actively encouraged.

Darkness Rains exemplifies a modern tap on fun house, whilst dabbling in punk-rock alternatives, with the militant beats and chaotic lyrics, making for a spiritually-driven listen.

There is just enough fun stuff with the band's basic sound and their occasional add-on instruments to make Darkness Rains an easy listen. But there isn't enough good stuff to make it a particularly memorable album. So it ends up being a record with a cool basic sound that doesn't stick with the listener for any length of time.