Emmie America
Latter-day punk provocateurs cumgirl8 have signed with the venerated UK indie label 4AD — home of Big Thief, Deerhunter, Dry Cleaning, Holly Herndon, Jenny Hval, and many other FADER favorites past and present. To honor the occasion, they’ve released “cicciolina,” their first new single in nearly a year. Their most recent release, May 2022’s “dumb bitch,” was also a certified Song You Need.
The new track, like its predecessor, begins with automated drum clicks that soon give way to a brash four-on-the-floor kick (from Chase Lombardo), Lida Fox’s lithe bass line, and Veronica Vilim and Avishag Rodrigues’ squalling guitars. The group’s collaborative, immersive vocals (led by Fox) enter shortly thereafter, paying tribute to Hungarian-Italian porn star politician Ilona Staller, also known as Cicciolina.
“Cicciolina is an Italian icon, porn star, and former politician elected to parliament in the ’90s,” cumgirl8 explain. “As a politician, she advocated for human rights and the eradication of nuclear weapons. Cicciolina said ‘make sex not war’ and used her divine power of femininity to troll the status quo while disrupting it from the inside. We feel her ideals are foundational to the cumgirl8 philosophy of subversive change, peace, and strength in vulnerability. We hope she loves our song, we love her very much. cicciolina is cumgirl1.”
“cicciolina” — today’s song, not to be confused with the woman herself, nor with the Finnish track of the same title and subject by Eurovision 2020 runner up Erika Vikman — comes with a visual treatment courtesy of Emmie America. The video stars each member of cumgirl8 as their own version of the track’s title character, appearing in a high-camp reenactment of her successful 1987 run for Italian parliament and several steamy scenes involving food. Watch the clip below and check out the dates for cumgirl8’s 2023 international tour, kicking off with two New York shows: a DJ set tomorrow (April 19) at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right and a full performance at Manhattan’s Nublu on Thursday (April 20). The tour also includes a brief North American run with riot grrrl legends Le Tigre.
cumgirl8 2023 tour dates
April 19 - New York City, NY - Baby’s All Right (DJ Set)
April 20 - New York City, NY - Nublu
May 9 - London, UK - Moth Club
May 11 - Brighton, UK - Great Escape
May 12 - Leeds, UK - Headrow House
May 13 - Margate, UK - Justines
May 15 - Southampton, UK - Heartbreakers
May 17 - Paris, France - Pop Up!
May 18 - Gent, BE - Trepunt
May 19 - Amsterdam, NL - London Calling Festival
May 20 - Le Havre, FR - Foul Weather Festival
May 25 - Madrid, ES - Wurlitzer Ballroom
May 26 - Donostia, ES - Dabadaba
May 29 - Barcelona, ES - Primavera
June 9 - Hilvarenbeek, NL - Best Kept Secret
June 17 - Kriens, CH - B-Sides Festival
June 18 - Mannheim, DE - Maifeld Derby
July 1 - Oakland, CA - Mosswood Meltdown Festival
July 7 - Trenčín, Slovakia - Pohoda Festival
July 21 - Toronto, ON - History*
July 22 - Montreal, QC - L’Olympia*
July 24 - Boston, MA - Royale*
August 18 - Wales, UK @ Greenman Festival
August 19 - Glasgow, SC @ Core Festival
August 30 - Berlin, DE @ Popkultur Festival
November 10–11 - Paris, FR @ Pitchfork Festival
* w/ Le Tigre
