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 on the cusp of their 8th cumming by way of their long-awaited debut 4AD album of that name, out October 4.
Following the previous release of the record’s first tongue-in-cheek single ‘Karma Police’, the band return today with another new track entitled ‘ahhhh!hhhh! (I don’t wanna go).’ The polished 8-bit electroclash cut lurches forward with slinky bass lines and head-bobbing snare hits, touching on an aching feeling of overstimulation before finally coming to a head with a scream. Recorded live, its infectious energy speaks to the band’s can’t-miss 2024 international headline tour throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe and recent support dates with Le Tigre, L7, and Bratmobile.
The arrival of ‘ahhhh!hhhh! (I don’t wanna go)’ additionally comes alongside an accompanying music video directed by Leah Hennessey (best known for HBO’s John Early: Now More Than Ever, and the cult webseries Zhe Zhe).
Wrote Hennessey of the video and its concept: “We shot the video at 93 Canal, this experimental live streaming studio in Chinatown, which is carrying on the tradition of public access/pirate broadcasting downtown. The fictional show ‘Feminist or Feminot’ is hosted by the AI Hologram of The Collective Unconscious Perception of Second Wave Feminist Philosopher Susan Sontag (played by me and actress Roberta Colindrez), who is grilling the band about their particular brand of surrealist sex positive feminism. The conversation seems to splinter hologram Sontag into two, and when she encounters her double in the heart of Dimes Square, she’s forced to confront the erotic consequences of a level narcissism only made manifest with the help of AI.”
CUMGIRL8 – ‘AHHHH!HHHH! (I DON’T WANNA GO)’
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.
the 8th cumming will be available to purchase in a variety of formats via the 4AD Webstore, including Standard Black and Neon Green 4AD Webstore/Indie Exclusive vinyl. Pre-ordered copies will receive a flexi-disc for bonus track “Goblin” and a signed press photo. The record will 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:
“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
“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
