Like a scantily clad Creature from the Black Lagoon, Manhattan four-piece cumgirl8 has emerged from their primordial goo, resurrecting in striking full colour with a highly-anticipated announcement of new music. After coming-of-age with their introductory self-titled EP (2020), experiencing their own end with their RIP cumgirl8 EP (2021), and witnessing a twisted vision of the after life through their first EP on 4AD phantasea pharm (2023), cumgirl8 is now on the cusp of their 8th cumming by way of their long-awaited debut LP of that name, out on 4 October.
To commemorate the announcement of the record today, cumgirl8 have additionally shared the record’s first single, ‘Karma Police,’ alongside an accompanying visualiser. With the track, the band deliver not a Radiohead cover, but a chaotic tour story of missed flights and stolen luggage delivered with a hailstorm of angular glittering keys, propulsive swirling riffs, and darkwave night club whispers akin to Gina X, Essential Logic, & Delta 5. Capitalising on the band’s historic ‘gothic pop and scuzzy dance-punk studded with horny prose’ (Pitchfork), the track portrays a fluorescent snapshot of their recent US headline shows, global festival appearances, and support
slots with Le Tigre, L7, and Bratmobile.
LISTEN/WATCH HERE
Cumgirl8 – ‘Karma Police’
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, travelling 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 (‘On The Rise’ Hand-Painted White Labels, limited to 100 copies).
For more information, and to pre-order head HERE.
PRAISE FOR CUMGIRL8:
“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
“The track feels like it’s been marinated in post-punk attitude, electro-punk zaps, and the kind of industrial grime you’d proudly wear like a badge. The hook is the cherry on top of this wonderfully chaotic sundae.” – Post-Punk
“cumgirl8 are infectious enough in their playful, hodgepodge freedom to be infatuating.” – DIY
“A new, necessary, realm of art-punk.” – The Vinyl Factory
“Among the new names to watch out for.” – The Times
“An important band for the future.” – The Rodeo
cumgirl8 – the 8th cumming
4 October 2024
4AD0766
PRE-ORDER HERE
Tracklisting
1. Karma Police
2. ahhhh!hhhh! (i don’t want to go)
3. mercy
4. hysteria
5. UTI
6. simulation
7. girls don’t try
8. iBerry
9. ny winter
10. something new
About cumgirl8
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 colours,’ with their forthcoming debut LP, 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’. Both new singles served as a follow-up to last year’s EP release, phantasea pharm (their debut with 4AD), recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely from analog tape. The six-track EP followed stand-alone single ‘dumb bitch’ (2022) and their two other EPs, cumgirl8 (2020) and RIPcumgirl8 (2021).
Praise for cumgirl8
“cumgirl8 are infectious enough in their playful, hodgepodge freedom to be infatuating.” – DIY
“A new, necessary, realm of art-punk.” – The Vinyl Factory
“Among the new names to watch out for.” – The Times
“An important band for the future.” – The Rodeo
CUMGIRL8 ONLINE:
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