Kathleen Hanna returns this week with Run Fast, the proper debut album from her newest band, the Julie Ruin. As noted in SPIN’s August 2013 cover story, the former Bikini Kill frontwoman first unveiled the Julie Ruin name in the late ’90s, as the title of a one-off solo album. Now, Hanna has revived the project as a full-on band featuring Bikini Kill bassist Kathi Wilcox, guitarist Sara Landeau, drummer Carmine Covelli, and Kiki & Herb member Kenny Mellman on keyboards. The Julie Ruin have already let go a number of songs from their first full-fledged LP — “Oh Come On” and “Ha Ha Ha,” as well as an alternate version of “Girls Like Us”— and now they’ve shared another highlight, “Just My Kind.”
Mixed by James Murphy, the track falls on the softer side of Run Fast, a record that SPIN recently described as “a raucous album that unites Hanna’s songwriting strengths — punk wailing, pop hooks, ’60s girl-group harmonies, synthy squelches, and of course, lyrics that waver between polemical and terribly personal.” Hanna’s rough-edged, Ronettes-indebted vocals are on full display as her voice cruises over a swaggering combination of bass and keyboards, issuing a low-key declaration of love. “Don’t you know I really like how you know my mind?” she sings. “But even more to the point is the fact, you’re just my kind.” Stream it below, scroll further for upcoming tour dates, and watch out for the Julie Ruin on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, September 4.
Also be sure to read SPIN’s recent cover story, Kathleen Hanna: Love Among the Ruin.
The Julie Ruin tour dates:
September 3 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
September 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
September 7 – Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat
September 12 – Portland, OR @ TBA Festival
September 15 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
September 17 – San Francisco, CA @ Slims
September 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
September 22 – San Diego, CA @ Irenic
November 8-10 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
