Le Butcherettes and Death Valley Girls have shared a new split single that, beyond revealing the commonalities between themselves as rock groups, cements their camaraderie with each other. On side A, Le Butcherettes capture the multitude of voices in their cover of DVG’s “The Universe” by leaning into the vocal elements in a way that’s immediately snazzy. On side B, Death Valley Girls introduce “When I’m Free,” a new song with friendly vocals, cheery organs, and sweet guitar work. The result is a collaboration that’s wholesome and endearing.
“I’m such a huge admirer of Death Valley Girls,” says Teri Gender Bender of Le Butcherettes. “I was touched and surprised when they came up with the idea of doing a split vinyl together. Immediately I knew I wanted to cover one of my favorite songs of theirs, ‘The Universe,’ in support of their brilliant new single, ‘When I’m Free.’ A true honor to be a part of their EP!”
Bonnie Bloomgarden, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of Death Valley Girl, describes “When I’m Free” as creating a perception shift from trauma toward healing. “We’ve talked a lot about trauma, mental health, and how hard it is to live in a human body,” she says. “One concept that has really been helping during the daily struggle is the perspective shift—that things aren’t ‘happening to me,’ they’re ‘happening for me.’ Sometimes if you can squint your eyes, alter your view, try to see experiences as opportunities to learn and grow! Sometimes that’s the best we can do!”
The split arrives February 11 on vinyl and via Suicide Squeeze—in the meantime, you can stream both tracks below and pre-order the vinyl here.
