Commence feasting your ears on this previously unreleased b-side “Baby Are You In?” from Kristin Kontrol, available today everywhere in the known digi-verse.
What’s the story here? Well, Kristin tells us, “”Baby Are You In?” was recorded during the X-Communicate sessions and I really regret not including it on the album. It was super fun to make - Kurt Feldman and I let loose on the production, trying to pin down that nebulous aggression from Evil Heat-era Primal Scream, but let it cork off the party at the end. It’s my favorite to perform live; I really feel the lyrics…’I wake up with the sun on my face, I call this moment “morning grace.’ I wanna kiss the light cuz it’s one day later, the night’s lost its tenure, I slept off my failure.’”
Kristin Kontrol will perform on Tuesday, December 13th at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge with special guests Starchild & The New Romantic and NOIA. Tickets to aforementioned performance are on sale now here.
[Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine]
Kristin Kontrol’s X-Communicate was released in late May to mass critical praise. Highlighting the singular quality of Kristin’s voice and songwriting, the album moves effortlessly between tempo and mood, using genre rather than adhering to it. “There are sparkly synth ballads and icy New Wave tunes, and Welchez finds her inner Kate Bush behind the microphone. But it all makes sense because the whole record is so relentlessly, meticulously catchy that it coheres in ways few albums this varied could,” says the Los Angeles Times. Pitchfork also praised X-Communicate for its “sleek synth pop,” crowning its title track Best New Song. Idolator called it one of “the best pop albums of 2016.”
“She’s hitting reset, forcing us to rise to the occasion and see female creators as something more than our preconceptions,” said MTV News. Stereogum observed, ”X-Communicate and the evolution into Kristin Kontrol show Welchez becoming an absolute machine when it comes to hooks.” “Yes, this is a dance-pop record, but think a modern spin on Kate Bush’s The Hounds of Love, Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Tinderbox,” noted Under the Radar.
Today marks the record release of Kristin Kontrol’s debut album, X-Communicate, which you can now stream in its entirety and purchase (definitely purchase!) right here at the Sub Pop Mega Mart.
Perhaps it bears repeating (or, communicating again?) that Kristin Kontrol is the new project from Kristin Welchez – fka Dee Dee, leader of internationally acclaimed rock outfit Dum Dum Girls, whose most excellent recordings can also be found on this very label. Throughout the best part of a decade, Dum Dum Girls morphed from the girl group-gone-bad moves of debut album I Will Be (2010), to the comparatively plush, noir-pop of 2014’s Too True. Now she’s shed her skin, ditching Dee Dee – the name she assumed for Dum Dum Girls – for her given name, Kristin, and giving us Kristin Kontrol’s X-Communicate.
Stereogum has noted about the album, “Kristin Kontrol is radically different from anything we would’ve expected from Welchez as Dee Dee. It draws on various strains of pop from various eras, collapsing them together into slick, infectious synth-pop…X-Communicate and the evolution into Kristin Kontrol show Welchez becoming an absolute machine when it comes to hooks.”
Kristin Kontrol will be kicking off an East Coast tour on June 15 at BSP in Kingston, NY and follow that short headline run with dates opening for Garbage in July. See below for itinerary.
The song is off her forthcoming debut, X-Communicate, which comes out on May 27 via Sub Pop.
Kristin also announced her first set of tour dates HERE - with more to come soon.
What have They say about Kristin Kontrol? We’re glad you asked:
“It’s true enough to her roots to hit with fans, but fresh enough to cause a stir.” Entertainment Weekly
“Yes, this is a dance-pop record, but think a modern spin on Kate Bush’s The Hounds of Love, Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Tinderbox....very enjoyable listen…this album proves that it’s well worth keeping up with her output.” Under the Radar
Kristin Kontrol - aka Dee Dee, leader of internationally acclaimed rock outfit Dum Dum Girls - released a new song today. “Show Me,” with all its synth-sax flourishes and minimal groove, premiered on i-D here.
The track, produced by Kurt Feldman with Danny Meyer on saxophone, is off her debut album, X-Communicate, coming out on May 27 via Sub Pop Records. The album pre-order is underway HERE. Fans who pre-order X-Communicate digitally will instantly receive the title track ”X-Communicate,” as well. Additionally, the limited, blue-vinyl Loser Edition is available to pre-order customers at megamart.subpop.com, and at select independent record stores (while supplies last).
“Show Me” follows the release of the album’s title track ”X-Communicate,” of which Cosmopolitan said “her voice…remains as smoldering as it’s always been,” and Pitchfork noted “the springy cushion of bass arpeggios, synth pads, and ringing guitars smartly borrows from Hi-NRG acts like Evelyn Thomas and Bananarama as well as sleek, wavy brooders like New Order and Pet Shop Boys. But the results are far too opulent to scan as merely retro. If “X-Communicate” were a look on “Project Runway,” it’d find Nina Garcia gushing about how expensive it sounds.”
Kristin also announced her first set of tour dates here, including stops in Brooklyn and Boston – more dates will be announced soon.
Kristin tells her stories using a sonic palette splashed with bold pop melodies, her vocals showcasing a range hitherto unexplored by Kristin. The album was produced by Kurt Feldman (of Ice Choir and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart) and Andrew Miller (who played guitar in the Dum Dum Girls’ last incarnation). Longtime Dum Dum Girls producer Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, The Go-Go’s) provided “sonic consultation,” giving Kristin feedback on the new songs and inspiring her to continually push further. Kristin spoke more about the upcoming album in her recent Sirius XMU interview with Jenny Eliscu HERE.
Dum Dum Girls was Kristin’s guise for the best part of a decade. After posting her bedroom recordings online, she caught the ears of Sub Pop. From there she assembled her group of badass, black-clad cadets and toured the world. Over the course of three albums, four EPs and a bold brace of singles, Dum Dum Girls morphed from the girl group-gone-bad moves of debut album I Will Be (2010), to the comparatively plush noir-pop of 2014’s Too True. At the top of 2015, Kristin decided to shed her Dum Dum Girls skin, ditching Dee Dee for her real name, Kristin, and adding Kontrol (a bit of an inside joke between old friends). Inspired by some words of wisdom from Karen O, it may be a leap into the unknown, but little risk means little reward.
This Friday, March 18th, the highly-trained music industry professionals from Sub Pop Records will host “Back by Zero Demand,” our 2016 SXSW showcase at The Blackheart in Austin. Featuring performances from Mass Gothic, Cullen Omori, So Pitted, Arbor Labor Union, Porter Ray, and Strange Wilds. This showcase is 21+/doors at 7:30pm.
FRIDAY MARCH 18TH SUB POP SHOWCASE AT BLACKHEART 86 Rainey St, Austin, TX 78701
1am: Mass Gothic 12am: Cullen Omori 11pm: So Pitted 10pm: Arbor Labor Union 9pm: Porter Ray 8pm: Strange Wilds
You can also find our entire artist schedule (which includes Arbor Labor Union, Cullen Omori, Kristin Kontrol, Mass Gothic, No Age, So Pitted, and Strange Wilds) below:
Tuesday March 15th Kristin Kontrol 6pm - 7:35pm SXSW Official Opening Party (DJ set) Maggie Maes @ 323 E. 6th St.
So Pitted 8:15pm DOJO Fest Long Branch Inn @ 1133 E. 11th St.
Wednesday March 16th Cullen Omori 4pm-4:45pm Waterloo Day Party Waterloo Records @ 600A N. Lamar Blvd.
Mass Gothic 7:30pm Under the Radar Evening Showcase Central Presbyterian Church @ 200 E. 8th St.
Kristin Kontrol 10pm -11:15 pm Jansport x Noisey Bonfire Series (DJ Set) Cheer Up Charlies @ 900 Red River St.
Thursday March 17th Kristin Kontrol 11 am-12:30pm SESAC Brunch (DJ Set) The Driskill Hotel @ 604 Brazos St.
Mass Gothic 1:30pm KROX Live Buffalo Billiards (Front room) @ 201 E. 6th St.
Cullen Omori 1:35pm Under the Radar Day Party Flamingo Cantina @ 515 E. 6th St.
So Pitted 7pm-10pm (Time TBD) ANON Magazine Party Diverse Arts @ 1106 E. 11th St.
Kristin Kontrol 10:30pm-11pm + 12:30am-1am Hype Hotel x Gorilla vs. Bear (DJ Set) Hype Hotel (aka Fair Market Bldg.) @ 1100 E. 5th St (at Waller St)
Cullen Omori 12am-12:50am Paradigm Showcase The Parish @ 214 E. 6th St.
Friday March 18th Arbor Labor Union 12pm-12:45pm Urban Outfitters Day Party Space 24 Twenty (behind store) @ 2406 Guadalupe St.
Cullen Omori 3pm Cameo Gallery X Hotel Vegas Unofficial Showcase Hotel Vegas Annex @ 1504 E. 6th St.
So Pitted 1pm She Shreds Day Party Studium @ 2108 Rosewood Ave.
Mass Gothic 3pm - 3:45pm Waterloo Records Day Party Waterloo Records @ 600A N. Lamar Blvd.
So Pitted 4:30pm House Show 9402 Rowlands Sayle Rd.
Sub Pop “Back by Zero Demand” Showcase (Strange Wilds, Arbor Labor Union, Porter Ray, So Pitted, Cullen Omori, Mass Gothic) 7:30pm - 2am Blackheart Bar @ 86 Rainey St.
Saturday March 19th So Pitted 1pm FLOOD Magazine Day Party Cedar Street Courtyard @ 208 W 4th St
So Pitted 3pm Beeswax Booking & Hive Mind PR Day Party Wonderland @ 1104 E 6th St.
Cullen Omori 4pm-4:45pm Urban Outfitters Day Party Space 24 Twenty (behind store) @ 2406 Guadalupe St.
No Age 5:45pm-6:30pm House of Vans Day Party The Mohawk @ 912 Red River St.
Sunday March 20th So Pitted 9pm Beerland @ 711 Red River St.
Kristin Welchez - aka Dee Dee, leader of internationally acclaimed rock outfit Dum Dum Girls, will release X-Communicate, the debut album from her new solo project, Kristin Kontrol, on CD / LP / DL / CASS worldwide May 27 via Sub Pop. Tapped as the first single, “X-Communicate” melds new wave with synth pop in a slice of glistening cosmic disco. You can share/listen to the track right over HERE.
The album pre-order is underway HERE. Fans who pre-order X-Communicate digitally will instantly receive “X-Communicate” as well. Additionally, the limited, blue-vinyl Loser Edition is available to pre-order customers at megamart.subpop.com, and at select independent record stores (while supplies last).
With Kristin Kontrol, Dee Dee sheds her skin, ditching the alter ego she’d assumed in Dum Dum Girls – for her given name, Kristin. Once again, she is smashing boundaries, only this time it’s the ones she had drawn to define herself artistically.
“For me as leader of Dum Dum Girls it felt very stoic and serious, and I am serious, but anyone who really knows me knows the other side; I’m silly – I smile a lot,” explains Kristin. “As the years went on, it was so weird that I kept so much of me out of my art.”
[Photo by Jimmy Fontaine]
As Kristin Kontrol, she tells her stories using a sonic palette splashed with bold pop melodies, her vocals showcasing a range hitherto unexplored on record. The album was produced by Kurt Feldman (of Ice Choir and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart) and Andrew Miller (who played guitar in the Dum Dum Girls’ last incarnation). Longtime Dum Dum Girls producer Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, The Go-Go’s) provided “sonic consultation,” giving Kristin feedback on the new songs and inspiring her to continually push further. After writing 62 songs for the project, she whittled them down to the 10 that will be featured on this debut.
“The first music I really identified as my own was very poppy, classic 80s, from Debbie Gibson and Tiffany to Janet Jackson and Madonna,” says Kristin, who grew up in Northern California and now resides in New York City. “I didn’t want to make another rock’n’roll record.”
With its synth-sax flourishes and minimal groove, album opener “Show Me” sounds like the soundtrack to a previously unseen John Hughes movie montage. ”(Don’t) Wannabe” loops Enya-esque vocals and features her first reverse guitar solo while “White Street” is Kristin’s most narrative song yet, telling the tale of a specific night - last New Year’s Eve - in New York City. Kristin spoke more about the upcoming album in her recent Sirius XMU interview with Jenny Eliscu HERE.
Dum Dum Girls was Kristin’s guise for the best part of a decade. After posting her bedroom recordings online, she caught the ears of Sub Pop. From there she assembled her group of badass, black-clad cadets and toured the world. Over the course of three albums, four EPs and a bold brace of singles, Dum Dum Girls morphed from the girl group-gone-bad moves of debut album I Will Be (2010), to the comparatively plush noir-pop of 2014’s Too True.
In a review of Too True, The New York Times observed, “each successive album has largely offered refinements and variations.” “Too True preserves what makes Dum Dum Girls great, while pushing the band to brilliant new heights,” said Alternative Press and MOJO praised its “mythic ambition. “Dum Dum Girls supported Too True with a North American tour, a performance on “Late Show with David Letterman,” and a series of videos, including ”“Lost Boys & Girls Club,” which was produced with support from H&M Life, and “Are You Okay,” which was produced and directed by novelist/screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis.
Kristin Kontrol will announce live dates soon, but in the meantime, fans can find her DJ’ing at SXSW later his month. Her recent video capturing a street art tribute to David Bowie, that was painted on the railings on a New York City street, caught fire and now has more than 13 million views. It can be seen HERE.
