After coming-of-age with their introductory self-titled EP (2020), experiencing their own end with their RIPcumgirl8 EP (2021), and witnessing a twisted vision of the afterlife through their first EP on 4AD phantasea pharm (2023), Manhattan four-piece cumgirl8 are now entering their 8th cumming by way of their long-awaited debut 4AD album of that name, out now.
Following the release of two previous singles – tongue-in-cheek riot grrrl single ‘Karma Police’ and polished 8-bit electroclash cut ‘ahhhh!hhhh! (I don’t wanna go)’ – the band additionally shines light on a final single and focus track ‘something new,’ on which they “let it all out with a sigh” via a nostalgic and tender coming-of-age musicality. Closing out a record of intense highs and lows, this track shares a beat of reprieve and reflection, expressing an understanding that in order to move forward as individuals and humans collectively, it is vital to start anew for the sake of our continued existence.
CUMGIRL8 – ‘SOMETHING NEW’
Described as a utopian, chaotic “Greta Thunberg fever dream,” the 8th cumming (recorded live, entirely on analog) is rooted in a philosophy close to the band’s heart: cyberfeminism, which addresses the relationship between human and machine, nature and technology. Within this context, the record aims to examine our relationships with the online and physical world from an apocalyptic vantage point, even down to its artwork in which the band adorns slime-covered futuristic garments in a muted, murky landscape (representative of an inevitable “post-reality” consisting of our deteriorating natural ecosystem and the dissolution of consciousness at the helm of artificial intelligence). Historically flexing their political muscles via outspoken activism (including protesting SXSW 2024), innuendo-ridden lyrics, adventurous stage presentation aided by costumes created in-house by the band, and merch table Plan C (Medication Abortion) pills, this current version of the band has fundamentally taken things up a notch, unafraid to introduce listeners to complicated themes all while exploring their creative boundaries and looking inward.
The album’s tracklist sonically oscillates between dark and light, traveling intergalactically between distorted, gothic industrialism akin to the retro horror soundtracks of John Carpenter, to Chris & Cosey or Suicide-reminiscent suspenseful and sometimes romantic synth-wave, and gritty post-punk experimentalism. A handful of musical references the band turned to during their writing sessions include Miss Kittin, Delta 5, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Throbbing Gristle, ESG, Desire, Ladytron, Deli Girls, Nine Inch Nails, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Peaches, Björk, LustsickPuppy, Nite Fleit, White Town (specifically “Your Woman”), and Girl Pusher – nods to each can be seen in small doses throughout. Colliding with its varied musical landscape, the 8th cumming additionally sits firmly between hyper-realistic and fantastical in terms of its themes, calling back to the record’s interplay of cyberfeminist societal critiques and the foursome’s lived experience.
Introducing their new project, the band writes:
Welcome to the digital apocalypse. Reality is deleted!
As the earth-born simulation of consciousness approaches its inevitable post-reality, we cumgirl8, upon our 8th cumming to this planet earth, present our alien kin with a sonic cum-piss to navigate the imaginary boundary between science fiction and social reality. The simulation is the hyperreality.
As your hosts, we have cum to conduct serious play with the virus of humanity; to lead you through the swamp of e-waste, the degenesis of technology, and the overflow of the rebellious AI meme-plex.
We are all cyborgs, released from the originas sacred slime. Guided by the phallic mother and the planet VNS we give you a world without end.
the 8th cumming is available to purchase in a variety of formats via the 4AD Webstore, including Standard Black and Neon Green 4AD Webstore/Indie Exclusive vinyl. The record is also be available via Bandcamp (Bandcamp Exclusive Lenticular Insert, limited to 100 copies) and Rough Trade (SOLD OUT ‘On The Rise’ Hand-Painted White Labels, limited to 100 copies). Find more information HERE.
CUMGIRL8 – THE 8TH CUMMING
Out on All DSPs and Vinyl on October 4
TRACKLISTING
- Karma Police
- ahhhh!hhhh! (I don’t wanna go)
- mercy
- hysteria!
- uti
- simulation
- girls don’t try
- iBerry
- ny winter
- something new
CUMGIRL8 BIO:
After meeting in a sex chat 8000 years ago, cumgirl8 – Veronika Vilim (guitar), Chase Lombardo (drums), Lida Fox (bass), and Avishag Rodrigues (guitar) – have constructed a dense lore that spans multiple genres, timelines, and dimensions. Evocative of AIM handles of yore and stamped with a hypersexual ethos, their moniker is a simultaneous wink to the freedom granted by online anonymity, and a cheer for the sex-positive, sex worker-supportive possibilities of the web at its most utopian. A product of the experiences they’ve had across their many lives, their discography is a warped, fucked up ‘coat of many colors,’ with their forthcoming debut 4AD album, the 8th cumming, being no different. “We want people to be afraid of what’s coming.”
Earlier this year, cumgirl8 shared two standalone singles, ‘quite like love’ and ‘glasshour,’ released to praise from the likes of PAPER Magazine, The FADER, Post-Punk, and Brooklyn Vegan. Both new singles served as a follow-up to last year’s EP release, phantasea pharm (their debut release with 4AD).
Read the full album biography HERE.
PRAISE FOR CUMGIRL8:
“the 8th cumming will be, mark my words, the LP that introduces cumgirl8 to the rest of the pop-starved, freaky-as-fuck world.” – Paste
“I can safely and uncontroversially say that cumgirl8’s ‘Karma Police’ is better than the ‘original.’” – The FADER
“Releasing a single called ‘Karma Police’ that’s not a Radiohead cover: Fantastic bit. Genuinely funny. Almost as noteworthy as calling your band cumgirl8 […] We get some bouncy synth-beats, smeary guitar noises, and back-and-forth deadpan chants. I’d like to hear Radiohead attempt that opening narration.”
– Stereogum
“In the belly of the album, I found myself in a sonic house of mirrors, anxiously waiting for Lida’s deep whispers to turn into shrieks. Haunting piano and synthesizers intensified emotions, disorienting listeners before they travel back to their own dimension.” – Passion of the Weiss
“It’s that energy of righteous rebellion that has made cumgirl8 one of the most exciting acts releasing music today. cumgirl8 is that rare act that melds the sweat of performance with the immediacy of a headphones-on experience.” – PAPER Magazine
“[phantasea pharm] brings what they’ve done previously, and brilliantly, to new heights” – Alternative Press
“…gothic pop and scuzzy dance-punk studded with horny prose.” – Pitchfork
“four girls brewing up chaotic, subversive post-punk.” – NYLON
CUMGIRL8 ONLINE:
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