A Twin Cities band that has largely built its reputation on live shows over the past half-decade — including some memorable gigs during the pandemic — Kiss the Tiger stepped up its game in the studio and will unleash a new album next month. Not surprisingly, the group is planning a bunch of live shows to promote it.

The punky, '80s-poppy rockers have announced a June 3 release for their third album, "Vicious Kid," which will also be the day they kick off a June residency gig outside Icehouse in Minneapolis.

Each installment of the Thursday night series will feature a different opening act, starting with Mayda and followed by Tabah (June 10), Tekk Nikk (June 17) and Thomasina Petrus (June 24). Tickets are on sale now for $20 via icehousempls.com.

Per our story last week, Icehouse is one of several Twin Cities music venues already taking advantage of its patio space with early-May outdoor gigs. Another is the Hook & Ladder, which happens to be hosting a sold-out show by Kiss the Tiger this Saturday.

Fronted by Meghan Kreidler — a local theater vet who's part Karen O and Pat Benatar on a rock stage — Kiss the Tiger recorded "Vicious Kid" at the Terrarium Studio in northeast Minneapolis. The album is available for pre-order now via kissthetiger.com for physical copies and digitally via Bandcamp.com (whose monthly no-fees sale is Friday).

And to tout all of this in the meantime, Kiss the Tiger just dropped "Vicious Kid's" debut single, "I Miss You," a slow-moving but instantly infectious pop standout that sounds drenched in quarantine blues: "I miss you, and you miss me / And that's the way it's gonna be." They posted the track with a music video featuring animation by Eleonore Dendy.

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658

@ChrisRstrib