Death Valley Girls travel through a mirror, darkly on reflective single 'Sunday'

Photo by Neto Velasco

Sunday is possessed of a curious dichotomy. It is a day with significance that spans the spiritual and the secular, a moment of rest at the conclusion of a week's work balancing on the precipice of yet another series of tasks, a perpetual cycle of endings and beginnings scaled down from immeasurable proportions to comprehensibly brief human timelines. From certain angles Sunday then becomes a metaphor for our own existence, as one moves through the years and the seasons and the weeks of life into new phases of being, a symbolic Sunday can neatly bookend each chapter providing a transitional vehicle for metamorphosis. But Sunday, like any day, is a measure of time, a human construct designed to give order to the unpredictable cosmic chaos that swirls amidst eternity mere miles above our heads and a reminder that our time here is fleeting. To remain static is to perish so one should not be afraid of change for change is truly the only constant, and what better day to change than Sunday.

It is fitting that Death Valley Girls position their latest single within the symbolic constructs of this significant day, channeling the elemental power of time's ceaselessly repetitive march into a confessional reflection of the personal strength needed to pause before safely making the transition from the depths of twilight into a brilliant new day. "Sunday"'s reclusive prose gives voice to the moments that can seem unbearable; loneliness, boredom, and sadness congealing into a syrupy melancholy that can mire the psyche in a seemingly inescapable depression. Surrendering to the void can seem like the only option, but Death Valley Girls refuse to sink beneath the surface of the inky blackness, instead digging deep within to find the strength necessary to trudge ever forward toward the glimmering star of hope and self actualization. The journey is never easy and may prove to be perpetual, but at the peak of each hill we gain a fresh perspective on the next goal and can for a brief Sunday bask in the warmth from above the layer of clouds.

Video by Arturo Baston

Riffing on the iconic imagery of Walt Disney's 1951 psychedelic rendition of Lewis Carrol's Alice In Wonderland, "Sunday" casts the perpetually curious protagonist in sable vestments peppered with glittering stars, a emotive reinterpretation of the original's chemically altered wonder reflected through the dark side of the looking glass. There is an ever present element of terror as this umbral Alice tumbles her way down the rabbit hole in search of truth and confronts the obstacles of her own psychic apparatus. Amorphous walls of shifting color and light and rings of purple smoke pour forth from the glowing eyes of a leering death's head, emblematic of chemical coping mechanisms as obstacle after obstacle attempts to deter the heroine from achieving her goal. Ever resolute she presses on until confronted with a final barrier, and in a blast of radiant positivity Death Valley Girls erupt into her world, clearing the way forward into the next phase of personal growth and understanding unfettered from the trappings of the past.

Death Valley Girls forthcoming album, Islands In The Sky releases February 24th on Suicide Squeeze and is available for pre-order on limited vinyl here. Stream "Sunday" on Spotify and follow Death Valley Girls on Instagram.

Death Valley Girls 2023 Live Dates

Feb 4 - Gold Diggers - Los Angeles, CA

Feb 12 - NL - Den Haag - Grauzone Fest

Feb 14 - NL - Utrecht - Db’s

Feb 15 - FR - Amiens - La Lune des Pirates (nuit de l'alligator)

Feb 16 - FR - Angers - Le Chabada (nuit de l'alligator)

Feb 17 - FR - Vannes - L’Echonova (nuit de l'alligator)

Feb 18 - FR - Paris - La Maroquinerie (nuit de l'alligator)

Feb 20 - BE - Brussels - Botanique (Witloof Bar)

Feb 22 - CH - Dudingen - Bad Bonn

Feb 23 - FR - Annecy - Hors Pistes Fest

Feb 25 - DE - Berlin - Berghain Kantine

Feb 28 - UK - London - Moth Club

Mar 1 - UK - Nottingham - Bodega

Mar 2 - UK - Newcastle - The Cluny

Mar 3 - UK - Manchester - Projekts Skatepark

Mar 4 - FR - Lille - L’Aéronef

Mar 7 - FR - Nimes - Paloma

Mar 9 - FR - Macon - Le Matilda

Mar 10 - FR - Bordeaux - Bordeaux Rock (festival)

Mar 11 - FR - St Malo - La Route du Rock Hiver (festival)

Mar 14 - The Quarry - Bisbee, AZ

Mar 16-17 - SXSW - Austin, TX

Mar 18 - Beer City Music Hall - Oklahoma City, OK

Mar 20 - Lost Lake - Denver, CO

Mar 21 - Quarters - Salt Lake City, UT

Mar 23 - Treefort Music Festival - Boise, ID

Mar 24 - The Loving Cup - Reno, NV

Mar 25 - Eli's Mile High Club - Oakland, CA

Mar 31 - Whistle Stop - San Diego, CA

Apr 1 - Pappy & Harriets - Pioneertown, CA