CUMGIRL8 SHARE “AHHHH!HHHH! (I DON’T WANNA GO)” SINGLE + VIDEO
4AD LABEL DEBUT LP THE 8TH CUMMING OUT OCTOBER 4
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 basslines 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.”
Described as a utopian, chaotic “Greta Thunberg fever dream,” the 8th cumming (recorded live and 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.
Tour Dates
October 5 – New York, NY – Baby’s All Right [Record Release Show]
October 15 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
October 16 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room @ The Observatory
October 18 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
October 19 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar [VIVA PHX Festival]
October 20 – Albuquerque, NM – Sister Bar
October 22 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive
October 24 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Beehive
October 25 – Boise, ID – Shrine Social Club Ballroom Basement [Duck Club Halloween Event]
October 26 – Portland, OR – Dante’s
October 27 – Seattle, WA – Madame Lou’s
October 28 – Vancouver, BC – The Pearl
October 31 – Sacramento, CA – Goldfield Trading Post
November 1 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop [Psyched! Festival SF]
November 8 – Reykjavík, IS – Iceland Airwaves
November 10 – Lyon, FR – Le Sonic
November 15 – Bologna, IT – Covo Club
November 16 – Biel, CH – Terrain Gurzelen
November 17 – Basel, CH – Gannet – Gannet
November 18 – Frankfurt, DE – Zoom Bar
November 19 – Breda, NL – Pier 15 Skatepark
November 20 – Groningen, NL – Vera
November 21 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso (Small Hall)
November 23 – Copenhagen, DK – Huset
November 24 – Berlin, DE – Monach
November 26 – Cologne, DE – Helio37
November 27 – Hasselt, BE – Club AFF
November 28 – Paris, FR – Point Ephemere
November 30 – Brighton, UK – Revenge
December 1 – Bristol, UK – Exchange
December 2 – Southampton, UK – The Joiners
December 3 – Cardiff, UK – Clwb Ifor Bach
December 5 – London, UK – Underworld
December 6 – Sheffield, UK – Delicious Clam
December 7 – Glasgow, UK – Hug and Pint
December 9 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
December 10 – Manchester, UK – Yes Basement