Every week, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf shares a sonic gem she found using her nearly 20 years of new-music exploration experience. You can hear all her discoveries live on 88Nine at 10 p.m. every Monday on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music.
Death Valley Girls are led by the inspiring Bonnie Bloomgarden, who I’ve gotten the chance to talk with over the years. As wildly fantastical as she paints things musically on keys and vocals, she truly does keep herself grounded IRL in a very heartening way — something many Milwaukee fans saw in action at the SoCal psych rock band’s recent Anodyne show.
When Bloomgarden’s home was recently destroyed in the Altadena wildfire, all that was lost (including her beloved dog Tommy) had her tapping into some heavy realizations in the aftermath, looking for ways to transcend. The lead for these new songs born from tragedy is the hypnotically affirming “Message From the Venus Flower,” which talks about finding the love of our lost ones all around us.
The track is part of Death Valley Girls’ full album, Welcome To Earth (out Oct. 9), as well as this episode of What’s All This, available via the player at the top of the page. Enjoy the full playlist, and make sure to tune in at 10 p.m. every Monday on 88Nine for more Adventures in New Music.
Best new indie music this week
- Slow Pulp, “Spill”
- Current Joys, “HOLE”
- Clause, “She Doesn’t Love Me”
- Sharp Pins, “Live Without Her Love”
- Lael Neale, “Slip Away”
- Death Valley Girls, “Message From the Venus Flower”
- Dummy, “Full Spectrum Dominance”
- Starcleaner Reunion, “Lay on Plastic Moment”
- Grumpy, “OBL”
- Hudson Freeman, “I-40”
- Sadurn, “never tell me”
- Dungen, “Bouppdelning"
