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CIGARETTES AFTER SEX

Cigarettes After Sex

X's

    With X’s, Cigarettes After Sex finally takes center stage as not just one of today’s preeminent indie bands, but as one of the most globally accomplished acts across any genre, whose often unconventional path to superstardom has helped reshape the very definition of success for artists in the modern era.

    Filled with raw, imagistic, sometimes smutty vignettes set to entrancing, slowburn pop songs, bandleader Greg Gonzalez captures every emotion a romantic arc inspires. But where previous albums have drawn from an amalgam of relationships, for the most part, X’s centralizes on just one relationship that spanned four years. “The record feels brutal,” admits Gonzalez. “I could sit and talk about this loss to someone, but that wouldn’t scratch the surface. I have to really write about it, sing about it, have the music, and then I can start to analyze and learn from it. Or just relive it—in a good way. I don’t have that Eternal Sunshine-thing of wanting to forget.”

    While continuing to observe classic pop song structures, Gonzalez has moved away from the prior sonic touchstones of the ’50s and ’60s, finding himself now drawn to a ’70s/’80s slow dance. While (in typical Cigarettes style) these changes may be subtle, the overall resulting energy is akin to disco ball-refracted tears on the dance floor.

    TRACK LISTING

    1: X's
    2: Tejano Blue
    3: Silver Sable
    4: Hideaway
    5: Holding You, Holding Me
    6: Dark Vacay
    7: Baby Blue Movie
    8: Hot
    9: Dreams From Bunker Hill
    10: Ambien Slide

    Cigarettes After Sex

    Bubblegum

      “Bubblegum” and “Stop Waiting” are the latest pair of singles from Cigarettes After Sex, and their first new music of 2023.

      Syrupy, sensual, subterranean dream-pop is set against vocals from bandleader Greg Gonzalez that walk the subtle line between croon and whisper. The songs are a perfect distillation of the starry-eyed atmosphere that the band has claimed as their signature in the six years since the release of their globally successful self-titled debut. Behind billions of streams and over 17M monthly listeners on Spotify, Cigarettes After Sex continue to defy what it means to be one of the biggest cult bands in the world.

      TRACK LISTING

      A1: Bubblegum
      B1: Stop Waiting

      Cigarettes After Sex return with their anticipated sophomore album. Recorded during night time sessions in a mansion on the Spanish island of Mallorca, the album is a lush, cinematic meditation on the many complex facets of love - meeting, wanting, needing, losing...sometimes all at once. The album was self-produced and engineered by Greg Gonzalez, and mixed by Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

      TRACK LISTING

      1. Don't Let Me Go
      2. Kiss It Off Me
      3. Heavenly
      4. You're The Only Good Thing In My Life
      5. Touch
      6. Hentai
      7. Cry
      8. Falling In Love
      9. Pure

      Cigarettes After Sex

      Affection

        The acclaimed early single from 2017’s breakout indie act, Cigarettes After Sex, available for the first time in physical format of any kind.

        Includes as B side the cult favourite REO Speedwagon cover, ‘Keep On Loving You’.

        STAFF COMMENTS

        Andy says: Two tracks not on the album. The weepie AOR cover sounds like one of their own, whilst "Affection" is near perfection.

        Cigarettes After Sex frontman Greg Gonzalez had a clear vision for his band’s gorgeously cinematic debut album. After the phenomenal online break-out success of “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby”, from the band’s debut EP 1, the Brooklyn transplant (originally from El Paso) wanted to project his worldview on to a bigger screen, a broader canvas. As Greg explains, “This is like the novel or feature-length version of Cigarettes. I wanted it to feel like a complete work, where some of the imagery repeats – like it’s all in the same world. It’s very much a fulfilment of the feelings in the short works.”

        That sense of fulfilment is richly felt on Cigarettes After Sex, which unspools like the most achingly romantic of movies: immersive, cohesive and transporting. Swooning in the spirit of influences such as Mazzy Star and Red House Painters, its sumptuous songs of love elevate Cigarettes to the ranks of those acts who create worlds of their own, exciting the most devoted kind of following.

        Alongside keyboardist Phillip Tubbs, bassist Randy Miller and drummer Jacob Tomsky, the ability of Gonzalez and his band to set a scene and sustain a mood reels you in deeply. On album opener ‘K’, a tale of blossoming love etched in tiny details luxuriates over chiming guitars; on the hymn to romantic compulsion of ‘Each Time You Fall in Love’, the suspended animation of Angelo Badalamenti’s heart-stopping Twin Peaks music is echoed. ‘Sunsetz’ and the gently lilting ‘Sweet’, meanwhile, showcase Gonzalez’s ability to weave impressionistic snapshots of romance into melodies that haunt like memories of past loves, all coalescing around his melting vocals.

        STAFF COMMENTS

        Andy says: Gorgeous, slow-mo, late night heart-breakers drift by with classic chords, beautiful vocals and not one bad song in sight.

        TRACK LISTING

        1. K.
        2. Each Time You Fall In Love
        3. Sunsetz
        4. Apocalypse
        5. Flash
        6. Sweet
        7. Opera House
        8. Truly
        9. John Wayne
        10. Young & Dumb

        Cigarettes After Sex

        EP I.

          Cigarettes After Sex are an ambient pop group based out of Brooklyn, NY, inspired by the likes of The Cocteau Twins, Red House Painters and Mazzy Star. Since their formation the band have become a word-of-mouth phenomenon, generating over 75 million views on YouTube, all without the support of a label.

          Having sold out shows around the world throughout 2016, Cigarettes After Sex recently released the single ‘K.’, their first new material in twelve months and are now reissuing 2012’s ‘EP I.’ ahead of their debut album, due summer 2017 on Partisan Records.

          “A recent upswell of millions of YouTube hits have rained on this romantic, wistful Brooklyn band that plays at a heartbroken crawl. Many of them originated from recommendations via the video platform and a fanbase of pleasantly surprised listeners.” - Rolling Stone.

          “Cigarettes After Sex’s sound is elemental, hazy, and romantic, but with a noir edge underneath Gonzalez’s androgynous voice. As the band’s name suggests, it’s reminiscent of lying in bed, but its ambient qualities don’t prevent it from being music you can dance to.” – Noisey.

          STAFF COMMENTS

          Andy says: Massive shoegaze, slow-mo, heartbreakers roll by like a blend of Mazzy Star and Slowdive. This hits and it hurts. So good!

          Barry says: Stargazing indie-rock, haunting vocal musings and brilliantly constructed slow-mo balladry. From the longing optimism of 'Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby' to the dreamy lullaby that is the aching 'Starry Eyes', this is a wistful and beautiful outing.


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