IT MAY be strange that the opening song, of an album billed as a complete artistic overhaul and change of direction, concludes with the declaration: "There's no need to change yourself".
Kristin Kontrol was Dee Dee Penny (real name Kristin Welchez ), leader of the Dum Dum Girls, and while she has toned down the sex bomb/femme fatale image (slightly ) and the guitar drenched dream-pop has been eschewed in favour of a gutsy electro-indie pop, this is an album as much about the artist coming to terms with the transition and exploring a new avenue, as it is about encouraging her fans to come with her.
Hence the languid, hazy guitar lines, and Bowie-esque sax of opener 'Show Me' dominate, rather than its electro elements, creating something slightly different from Dum Dum Girls, but still very recognisable as Welchez's work, particularly when her distinctive voice, sultry and effortlessly cool, comes in.
The exuberant 'White Street' edges things a little further along, as does '(Don't ) Wannabe' - a brilliant exercise in songwriting, arrangement, and recreation of 1980s feel and style - so that when the more full blown electro of the title track, another highlight, begins, that, and the remainder of the album are not only easily digestible, but seem natural, as if Welchez has always been playing indie electro-pop. Little wonder she says in 'What Is Love': "Change is hard but I need a change of heart".
While X-Communicate goes on about two/three songs too long ('Going Thru The Motions' is an unintentionally apt title ), this is a positive new direction for Welchez and indie fans.
