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Jan 28, 2016 Kristin Kontrol By Christopher Roberts

Dum Dum Girls frontwoman/main creative force Dee Dee Penny (sometimes just known as Dee Dee) has launched a new solo project called Kristin Kontrol. Dee Dee’s real name is Kristin Welchez, hence the name of her new project. Kristin Kontrol’s debut album is set for release this spring via Sub Pop (also Dum Dum Girls’label). Below is a brief teaser trailer for the project.

A press release describes the album as “a mesmeric combination of New Wave, R&B, synth pop, and Krautrock, it’s a wink to heroes from the past, a nod to contemporaries, and a bold ‘solo’ dive into the future.” In the same press release Welchez explains why she felt the need to release this album under a new name, rather than have it be another Dum Dum Girls release. “I wanted to open things up and shed light on significant influences that felt off-limits in Dum Dum land. I don’t want to fight them off anymore. That’d be a drag…. The music is so different from anything I’ve ever done—I felt compelled to shed the alter-ego instead of trying to morph Dum Dum Girls into something else. I didn’t want to mess with that legacy.”

It’s unclear if this means that the Dum Dum Girls project is done with or if Dee Dee Penny will return at some point.

Below is the teaser trailer. Dum Dum Girls’ excellent third album, Too True, was released in 2014. Read our 2014 interview with Welchez/Penny about that album.