Taking their name but not their sound from the most experimental track on the 1967 classic The Velvet Underground and Nico, the Los Angeles-based indie rockers Black Angel's Death Song are either (depending on one's point of view) admirably eclectic or frustratingly all over the map. Elements of folk, pop, punk, and noise show up at various times, but they're rarely integrated within the same song.
Black Angel's Death Song was formed in October 1989 by a pair of songwriting guitarist-singers, Jack Gould and Jim Miller (formerly of '80s art punks Trash Can School). The original lineup was filled out with bassist J. Francis Connors, percussionist Carol Symington, and drummer Brett Gutierrez. This lineup recorded several tracks in early 1990 that remained unreleased for over two years, but it fractured when Gutierrez entered rehab. Gutierrez was replaced by an ongoing series of part-time drummers, including Jennifer Finch of L7, but after Lisa Nardoni came into the band to replace Symington in 1991, she eventually took over the drums as well as her percussion duties.
The reformulated quartet recorded a handful of singles for small Los Angeles indies before finally completing their first full-length, Sinning With a Policy, in 1992. (The CD came with an additional eight tracks, The Brett Sessions, from those early 1990 recording dates.) Connors left the band in December 1993, replaced by the mono-named Bianca in time for the recording of the group's second album. Peculiarly, the same set of 14 tracks was released on vinyl by the Italian label Helter Skelter as Two Girls and on CD by the Los Angeles label Hell Yeah as Due Ragazze.
Black Angel's Death Song split up in late 1994, with Miller going on to re-form Trash Can School with his ex-partner Adam Seven. However, a final album, Super Everything, came out in 1996.
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