Pop, Bloody Pop.
Death Valley High takes pride in telling stories with their music and incorporating imagery in every song. They certainly pull this off in their latest release, Positive Euth. From the drop, “Bath Salt Party” rocks the audience into intriguingly terrified dancing. Listeners are hit with an immediate energy that can bring a smile to any face in a sadistic sort of way, and that’s only the beginning.
“How2kill” is an excellent selection for the first single from Positive Euth. It is the most radio-worthy selection out of the bunch; from start to finish the idea of mainstreaming sound is obviously rooted within this track when compared to the rest of the record. DVH then promptly goes back to their danceable pop roots with “Undead Eat Lead” and “Batdanse”.
“Cinema Verite” is a DVH take on a love song… Well, it seems so, but then the couple involved might be running from “Not If I see You First,” an instrumental, followed by “Fingernail Marks,” a screaming emo/punk ‘go home and cut yourself’ track. Both are fillers and not meant for anything, really. “Commit to the Knife” is a must listen to all the mathematically inclined music nerds out there, it has an irrational rhythmic quality that can be explained only as: “pi.”
Final word: the best non-mainstream tracks from Positive Euth are: “The Present,” a sexy Frankenstein sort of song, “A Little Light Conversation,” which brings the listener back to the more romantic qualities of underground rock, and “Blood Drive,” which impresses with structure. The structure is complimentary to the whole story line and then, at the bridge, the listener is taken in an entirely new direction, making it more complex than most songs today.
In its entirety, Positive Euth is quite enjoyable. The value of any band is to be held in accordance with the audience and Death Valley High has a structurally sound idea of its own audience landscape.
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