Lauren Wade
Music Editor
In an age where music is taking serious inspiration from decades gone by, sometimes it’s refreshing to see a rock duo who strip it back with no-nonsense blues and sleazy garage-rock. Deap Vally are comprised of guitarist Lindsey Troy and drummer Julie Edwards and they come across surprisingly down to earth, despite making it big and living the dream every musician hopes to achieve someday.
The band headlined Brighton’s Concorde 2 recently and were excited to return to the city following performances in previous years at The Great Escape Festival. “We LOVE Brighton. As far as we can tell, it’s the only city in England with a real wheatgrass juice shop,” explains Julie before commenting that “It’s always better to be by the sea.” It’s a good thing they’re fans of the seaside as the venue they headline is located just mere metres from the beach. Concorde 2’s not the most intimate of venues but it’s small enough to make you break out in a sweat, whether you’re involved in the mosh pits or not.
The duo’s new track ‘Grunge Bond’, taken from their recently released second album ‘Femejism’, is perfect for their Brighton takeover. “It started out as an instrumental jam that would allow Lindsey to crowd surf while I did a drum solo.” This source of unity and sisterhood is the key to Deap Vally’s continued success. The pair compose their music together telling us “It’s a joint effort” and they thrive off of their musical vibes that are strongly rooted in feminism.
The pair challenge gender stereotypes through their powerful, visceral anthems and ensure that nobody messes with them. Previous hit single ‘Lies’ puts that message across the best, saying: “Babe, I wasn’t bluffin’, From now on, you get nothin.’” Not everyone might agree with this message, but hopefully it’s one Julie will pass on to her young daughter who was present on the night of their Brighton gig. “We’ve got mouths to feed now!” Exclaims front woman Lindsey as she urged the crowd to go out and purchase their new album for themselves, a friend and friends of their friends.
Deap Vally have endless ambition and enthusiasm and that also stretches to new musicians trying to get a leg up on the music scene. The Californian duo cites JJUUJJUU, Fat White Family, Courtney Barnett and Parquet Courts as just a few of the new acts they’re really loving and taking inspiration from at the moment. They also praise fellow duo and current tour support, The Velveteers too and after a storming performance warming the crowd up for the main offering, we wouldn’t be surprised to see The Velveteers go as far as Deap Vally.
The DIY aesthetic at the heart of Deap Vally it’s perhaps why so many people have fallen under their spell. After releasing their debut album to great acclaim, they parted ways with their record label and made the decision to carve their own path in the music industry and do it their own way. Fast-forward a few years and a couple of hair colour changes later and the band are at the best they’ve ever been. The two met at a LA knitting shop many years ago, and whilst they swapped the knitting for making music, Troy and Edwards have always been fans of getting down and doing it yourself.
The duo always appears to have something new up their sleeve but hopefully they won’t be leaving it another three years before a third album is recorded and released. If you’re wondering what their next move is then ponder no more. “We go right back on tour in the US with Death From Above 1979 and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. No time off until Chanukah!”
