Dum Dum Girls

California's Dum Dum Girls surfaced amid the popularity of C-86-inspired groups such as Vivian Girls and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, so their rapid rise on the indie scene after their debut single came as no surprise. Their '60s-tinged lo-fi pop echoed the style of Black Tambourine and Dolly Mixture. In 2008 lead vocalist Kristin Gundred, performing under the name Dee Dee, launched solo recordings as Dum Dum Girls, a moniker drawn from both the Vaselines album Dum-Dum and Iggy Pop's track "Dum Dum Boys." Throughout the following year she issued a 7" on Hozac, a four-way split single on Art Fag, the 12" EP Yours Alone via Captured Tracks, and a track on Art Fag's Blissed Out cassette compilation. The mounting attention around Dee Dee and the strength of these releases prompted Sub Pop to sign the project in 2009.

Early in 2010 the label released Dum Dum Girls' first single, "Jail La La," followed shortly by the debut album I Will Be. Dee Dee recorded the bulk of both at home, assisted by Nick Zinner and Crocodiles' Brandon Welchez, before Richard Gottehrer—known for prior work with the Go-Go's and Blondie—handled studio production. Ahead of the album's arrival, Dee Dee assembled a live lineup with guitarist Jules, bassist Bambi, and drummer Frankie Rose, the latter formerly of Crystal Stilts and Vivian Girls. Rose departed in June 2010; Sandra Vu took over on drums and remained when the band's fall U.S. tour was called off following the death of Dee Dee's mother. After a period of regrouping, the group resumed live performances toward the end of the year.

The He Gets Me High EP appeared in 2011. Dee Dee cut the material, which predated her mother's passing, without the band; Gottehrer and the Raveonettes' Sune Rose Wagner produced. Bambi exited late that year and was succeeded by Malia James. Later in 2011 the band issued its second full-length, Only in Dreams, the first album to feature the full group and one that centered on the loss of Dee Dee's mother. Autumn 2012 brought the End of Daze EP, which combined tracks tracked immediately after the Only in Dreams sessions with others recorded a year afterward. Gottehrer and Wagner returned to produce the third album, 2014's Too True, on which Dee Dee performed and sang nearly everything, with limited assistance from Wagner.

Once the album's touring cycle concluded, Dee Dee stepped away from Dum Dum Girls and launched a new endeavor under the name Kristin Kontrol. Seeking a brighter, synth-pop and R&B-leaning direction, she released the debut album X-Communicate on Sub Pop in May 2016.