The early 90s hazy-guitar indie/shoegaze sound has definitely experienced a revival over the past few years, and as a fan of many bands from that sound’s original heyday, I am glad to see it return. Mixed-gender Norfolk/DC quartet Death Valley Rally prove themselves to be able practitioners of the genre in the video for their new single, “Come On.”
The early 90s hazy-guitar indie/shoegaze sound has definitely experienced a revival over the past few years, and as a fan of many bands from that sound’s original heyday, I am glad to see it return. Mixed-gender Norfolk/DC quartet Death Valley Rally prove themselves to be able practitioners of the genre in the video for their new single, “Come On.” Featuring harmonized male and female vocals throughout from guitarists Ralph Bautista and Tiffany Riley, this song is based around hazy, relaxing melodies that contrast well with the distorted guitar sound and upbeat rhythm. I find myself recalling long-vanished New England alt-rockers Drop Nineteens, or the surprisingly-still-active Swirlies, and Death Valley Rally carries on the legacy of those and other similar bands quite ably, especially in “Come On”‘s gorgeous chorus, based around the evocative line “The stars shine brighter after midnight” (which also titles the EP from which this song is taken).
The video for this song also reminds me of the early 90s, because that’s when I was in high school. Inbetween scenes of Death Valley Rally playing “Come On” in a small room (sometimes while wearing heads from animal costumes), we see three teenage girls and one boy running around a small town trying to amuse themselves on a late summer afternoon. Swinging on playground swings obviously meant for younger children, dancing goofily around a bedroom, jumping into a swimming pool with all their clothes on… it’s the kind of stuff high school kids do when they want to have fun but can’t really “party” the way college kids do. The secret is–those bored teenagers are having more fun. Kids, a word of advice: never grow up.
Photo by Jesse Collins
Death Valley Rally’s debut EP, The Stars Shine Brighter After Midnight, came out just over a month ago, and is available in digital form from their Bandcamp page, or on CD from Planting Seeds Records. Death Valley Rally have no shows booked in Richmond at the moment, but will be playing in Washington DC at the Tree House Lounge on Saturday, November 2. Keep up with Death Valley Rally on facebook to find out when they’ll be coming through RVA, and make sure to grab yourself a copy of their new EP!
By Andrew Necci
