Kriston Welchez (Dee Dee from Dum Dum Girls) announces album X-Communicate under the name Kirstin Kontrol. It was a spontaneous idea that resonated. The challenge was to start fresh, go further back into her relationship to music. Sweep all her loves together into one genreless experience. Arguably the biggest shift, beyond the music itself, is that 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 songs that emerge from Kristin's universe -- a menagerie of new wave and R&B, European synth pop, and experimental disco -- are both familiar and unique, using genre rather than adhering to it, with a distinct nod to the present. It may be a leap into the unknown, but "little risk means little reward," as Karen O once counseled her. "I feel free. I kind of excommunicated myself. Even if I have to rebuild my whole career, I'd rather work hard then feel stagnant. I feel excited again, and that's priceless."