Photo credit: Charlie Knepper
Words by: Cat Woods
In the grungy, bass-heavy throb of synths and moody atmospherics, New York band cumgirl8 has found their niche. Their debut album, the 8th cumming, revels in witty lyrics, analog synths, and short and sweet, club-ready bangers.
Formed in 2019, bassist Lida Fox, guitarists Veronica Vilim and Avishag Cohen Rodrigues, and Noelle were already savvy in marketing, publicity, and the immense power of imagery thanks to their day jobs in fashion, film, and publishing. Their scantily clad, glossily, porn-inspired campaigns and editorials serve as the ultimate clickbait, prompting debate over whether they are empowering or exploitative.
The pandemic paused the band’s trajectory, delaying until 2023 audiences’ opportunity to finally get a dose of what cumgirl8 are capable of musically. Their EP phantasea pharm offered a cocktail of thrilling, industrial-strength sizzlers like “cicciolina,” “Picture Party” alongside – alas – some dull, vanilla fillers. However, phantasea pharm, like the 8th cumming, displays cumgirl8 in all their sexy, sleazy, snarling and slinky fabulosity.
Like former duo Deap Vally, cumgirl8 look the part, which is unapologetically, fundamental to both their story and their music. While critics may claim they prioritize style over substance, these voices often overlook the many men who have relied upon alter egos in rock’n’roll who have cultivated iconic alter egos—from the Ramones with their identikit black-clad looks to David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and beyond
There is no doubt about the substance in the 8th cumming, which, as Chase tells CONE, is the result of “lots of jam”.“We lock ourselves in a room until we’re finished.”
“We jam a lot, lots of jam,” Lida adds.
The decision to use analog synths instead of relying on the efficiency of digital compositions was a deliberate choice for texture.: The band values the physicality, touch, and interaction involved in creating music, along with the choice to limit the overwhelming array of options and sonic flavors.
Chase explains the band’s desire to use analog with a classic cumgirl8 quip: “We put the ‘anal’ in ‘analogue’. We get overwhelmed with options, so doing analogue and only having only 16 tracks really keeps us in check.”
Without missing a beat, Veronika chimes in, “We wanted it to be a very sincere record, and we only had so many channels recording analogue. So, it made sense. We like to be really physical when we’re in physical form and touch stuff.” Veronika also notes that emerging from a highly digital, internet-driven environment motivated the band to try something new and unexpected. In addition to Deap Vally, cumgirl8 captures an early 2000s vibe, blending electroclash with feminist anthems.. Fans of Le Tigre, Peaches, Miss Kittin, and Lunachicks will find cumgirl8 right down their dark, grimy, club-adjacent alley.
The beat-heavy opener, “Karma Police,” would have sent goth clubs of the 1990s in throes of ecstasy, reminiscent of a Siouxsie and the Banshees B-side. The standout track, “ahhhh!hhhh! (i don’t wanna go)” tells a familiar story: the reluctance to attend every party in a city that never sleeps. Who can’t relate to the sentiment in the lyrics: “you’re inviting me, and I already know I don’t wanna go…so many faces, but so alone, just want to be on my own at home?”
New York is both relentless and the band’s communal, creative heartland. “It’s perfect,” says Lida. “The expenses keep it difficult, but I think the energy keeps it possible.”
Chase explains, “It’s like a video game; if you can’t do it, it spits you out. But if you’re clever, you can figure out a way to make it work. It’s definitely not easy because it’s so expensive, but there’s a lot of people here that help each other. We help each other. People here don’t just talk about shit; they do shit. People finish stuff here, so there’s always a way, if you work hard enough, to get what you want.”
Veronika says, “The drive and the energy here is like no other place in the world. I think that’s what makes it. People that come here feel it, and you don’t feel like you want to stop.”
A nostalgic throwback, “girls don’t try” recalls the New York punk-disco pioneers Bush Tetras and the London melodic New Wavers The Psychedelic Furs, while “iBerry” falls somewhere between the early works of Kate Bush and Bat For Lashes (specifically Fur and Gold).
Between their EP and a handful of singles, there were plenty of breadcrumbs to give listeners a pathway to the 8th cumming. “It’s just like a trajectory, it’s like growing up a little bit, and being reborn,” Veronika says.
Chase explains how their tour showed them the impact of technology on our lives, stating, “We’re elaborating on a concept that’s really, affecting everyone.We can’t help but talk about it, especially since we were on tour for six months straight. All of these coincidences kept happening, which really made us feel like we were living in an echo chamber where our phones are dictating the experience. So we were pretty inspired by that and want to help people feel comfortable with the fact that we don’t know what’s real or not anymore. And that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It’s inevitable, so we just lean into it.”
Merely weeks before the United States presidential elections, the contentious atmosphere and the potential consequences of a vote in either direction looms over our conversation. The current socio-political divisiveness and the need for powerful female and non-binary voices is “definitely a guiding force,” says Chase.
Chase continues, “It’s motivational. We want to communicate that your body is yours. We really stand by that. Our whole ethos is about having agency over our feminine forms. We want to make our shows a safe place for everyone. We collaborate with a lot of different artists and play with a lot of different artists.”
She also emphasizes the importance of wanting, “everyone to feel like they’re their best selves and project that attitude so that they feel confident in whatever they were and whoever they are. “ [We also really want] people to feel like they can relate to that because we’ve all gone through shit and we’re all a community.”
Chase concludes, “It’s way more fun to just be what you dream about than anything else, so we love being extra and encouraging that.”