Bonnie Bloomgarden fronts Death Valley Girls at DC9 on Aug. 21, 2019. (Photos by Katherine Gaines/ ambienteye.com; Words by Mickey McCarter)

The punchy yet perky Death Valley Girls dropped by DC9 recently to meld rock riffs with infectious dance melodies.

Fronted by the charming and cheerful Bonnie Bloomgarden, Death Valley Girls drew most of their set from Darkness Rains, a new full-length released last year. The band bills themselves as “doom boogie,” but you’ll have to admit that good times seem to follow in their wake.

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A brand new single, “Dream Cleaver,” captured the Death Valley Girls’ sound  — fast guitars everywhere with a touch of glam here and a touch of surf there. They played the song toward the end of their set, which dashed frenetically toward a fantastic crescendo. The band followed it with “Disaster (Is What We’re After)” from Darkness Rains, where Bonnie’s chirpy lyric carried the tone over a very mod riff delivered with great focus by guitarist Larry Schemel.

At the end of the show, Death Valley Girls played “Electric High,” a clear audience favorite originally appearing on an EP of the same name in 2014. The band fired on all thrusters for the uptempo number.

Here are some pictures of Death Valley Girls performing at DC9 on Aug. 21, 2019. All photos copyright and courtesy of Katherine Gaines.