Review: Deap Vally at Terminal West

Kicking off the second leg of their farewell tour, Deap Vally fairly well blistered an Atlanta audience covering their 2013 debut album, Sistrionix. Or, actually, Sistrionix 2.0, which is their new release in a Swift move to own the masters. The songs may be the same, but the new recordings reflect a ton of experience playing the songs, tend to vary slightly in length and have a deeper sonic reach.

They’ve long been compared to The Black Keys, which is fair – guitar and drums, and that’s it. Sure, there’s a blues aspect to it, but there’s garage rock and a ton of female… dissatisfaction? Aggravation? Feminism? Let’s just call it swagger.

Linsey Troy plays guitar, filling the room with rich fuzz guitar (Big Muff, Octaver and delay pedals) and belts out the lyrics. Julie Edwards plays drums, at times by her own description, “brutal, abusive cavewoman drums.” But she also has a deft touch when needed. The band’s sound has changed over their three albums, but their debut has some of their most wicked lyrics, such as:

“Raw Material”

Hands off my raw material
I decide if I’m analog or digital
I got rhymes so catchy they’re venereal
Could you be any more uptight in this scenario?

This snipe at the music industry may also play into a comment between songs about female bands being treated differently by record companies.

Also, “Smile More”

And I am not ashamed of my mental stateAnd I am not ashamed of my body weightAnd I am not ashamed of my rageAnd I am not ashamed of my ageAnd I am not ashamed of my sex lifeAlthough I wish it were better

That last line just falls into place, and it brought smiles to some faces in the audience.

Each of the ladies have two kids each, and as income relates more to touring than making records, this tour will apparently be the end, extending through March in the US before heading to Europe for several months. Familiar with the band or not, there’s tons to like in their playing, the lyrics and the obvious affection between the two. Great energy, and fun two ladies who put checkmarks on the joy of playing live with each other and living one of their dreams. And they rock!

The opening band was Sloppy Jane, perhaps a genre-less band, part chamber-pop but mostly Haley Dahl. For those that enjoy singers who visually interpret their songs in an extraverted manner, this band is for you. Their set began with four songs from their most recent album, Madison, which was recorded in a cave in West Virginia because a cave is where Dahl felt the material belonged for a recording. It does bring a slightly different resonance. The music may not be for everyone, but Dahl puts on a riveting performance, on stage and (literally) off, both during the show. There are blue tears involved and likely a countdown New Years’ eve style to welcome positive change. And, yes, it’s the same band that Phoebe Bridgers used to play bass in.

Setlists and additional photos for both bands follow.

Deap Vally Setlist: (approximate)

Sistrionix