Cigarettes After Sex

Cigarettes After Sex
Greg Gonzalez of Cigarettes After Sex performing at Positivus Festival in July 2017
Background information
Origin El Paso, Texas, US
Genres
Years active 2008–present
Labels Partisan
Website www.cigarettesaftersex.com
Members
  • Greg Gonzalez
  • Jacob Tomsky
  • Randall Miller
Past members
  • Greg Leah
  • Steve Herrada
  • Emily Davis
  • Phillip Tubbs

Cigarettes After Sex is an American ambient pop band formed in 2008, from El Paso, Texas, founded by Greg Gonzalez. The band is known for their ethereal and often dream-like musical style, lyrics often based on the themes of romance and love, as well as Gonzalez's ethereal and "androgynous" voice. While marketed as an ambient pop band, Cigarettes After Sex are also considered to be shoegaze, dream pop and slowcore.

The band's debut extended play (EP), I., was released in 2012, with the song "Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby" eventually becoming a sleeper hit through commercial licensing. After the release of the standalone single "Affection" in 2015, the band released their self-titled debut studio album on June 2017 to positive reviews.

History

Cigarettes After Sex was formed in El Paso, Texas, in 2008.[5][6][7] Gonzalez recorded the first EP, I., in a four-story stairway at his alma mater, University of Texas at El Paso, calling the experience "basically an accident; kind of an experiment".[7] "Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby", "I'm a Firefighter", "Dreaming of You", and "Starry Eyes" were recorded for I.

Gonzalez relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where the band's single "Affection" was recorded and released in 2015 along with a cover of REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You".[8][9]

Through music recommendations, Cigarettes After Sex became popular on YouTube, leading to live performances across Europe, Asia, and the United States. The band then released their self-titled debut studio album on June 9, 2017.[10][7][11]

"Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby" was featured in episode 7 of the first season of The Handmaid's Tale.[12][13], episode 7 of The Sinner,[14] and episode 9 of the eighth season of Shameless.[15]

"Apocalypse" was featured on episode 6 of the show The Rain, a Netflix exclusive show, and in the movies Zoe and Hearts Beat Loud.

"K" was featured on episode 2 of the first season of Killing Eve.

Musical style and influences

In a feature for Noisey by Vice, Christina Cacouris describes Cigarettes After Sex as "elemental, hazy and romantic, but with a noir edge underneath Gonzalez's androgynous voice" as well as "sweet and sentimental".[7] "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."[7] Gonzalez cites Françoise Hardy as his favorite singer and Miles Davis as having great impact.[7] The band also includes The Cowboy Junkies' album The Trinity Session, Julee Cruise, and Cocteau Twins as influences.[6][16] The music blog Eardrums Music describes the band as "slow, dreamy and beautiful with gorgeous, tender vocals and very good lyrics." and compares it to Mazzy Star[16] Music bloggers behind Swell Tone describe Cigarettes After Sex as a band producing "melancholy, slow pop that will sweetly rock any listener into a listless stupor."[17]

Reviewing Affection for Independentmusicnews.com, Jae Pyl concludes that "there’s just such an intimacy to Cigarettes After Sex's sound that it’s impossible to not let it into the pit of your belly."[9]

Members

Since inception in 2008, the group has included a number of different members and collaborators led by Greg Gonzalez:[8]

Current members:

  • Greg Gonzalez – founder, lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass
  • Randall Miller – bass
  • Jacob Tomsky – drums

Previous members:

  • Phillip Tubbs – keyboards, electric guitar
  • Greg Leah – drums
  • Steve Herrada – keyboards
  • Emily Davis – acoustic guitar

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

  • I. (2012)

Singles

  • "Affection" (2015)
  • "K." (2016)
  • "Apocalypse" (2017)
  • "Each Time You Fall in Love" (2017)
  • "Sweet" (2017)
  • "Crush" (2018)
  • "Sesame Syrup" (2018)

Demos

  • Cigarettes After Sex (Romans 13:9) (2011)

References

  1. ↑ Cook, Cameron (June 8, 2017). "Cigarettes After Sex: Cigarettes After Sex". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ BrushedRed (March 21, 2017). "New Cigarettes After Sex Album". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  3. ↑ Lathan, Ryan (June 21, 2017). "Cigarettes After Sex: Cigarettes After Sex". PopMatters. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ Hadi, Eddino Abdul (June 14, 2017). "The slow burn of Cigarettes After Sex's debut album". The Straits Times. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ Simpson, Dave (April 19, 2017). "Cigarettes After Sex review – breathtaking ambient-pop enigmas". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Cigarettes After Sex - Tickets - The Echo - Los Angeles, California - April 27th, 2016". The Echo and Echoplex. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Diehard Romanticism of Cigarettes After Sex | NOISEY". NOISEY. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  8. 1 2 "Records". Cigarettes After Sex. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  9. 1 2 "Review / Cigarettes After Sex / Affection". Independent Music News. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  10. ↑ http://www.cigarettesaftersex.com/
  11. ↑ "Cigarettes After Sex - 10 New Artists You Need to Know: January 2016". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  12. ↑ "The Handmaid's Tale - S1 · E7 · The Other Side". tunefind. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  13. ↑ "The End Credits Song In 'The Handmaid's Tale' Episode 9 Epitomizes Moira's Spirit". BUSTLE. Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  14. ↑ "'The Sinner' Soundtrack: Listen to the Killer Playlist for USA's Addictive Murder Mystery". Indiewire. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  15. ↑ "Shameless - S8 · E9 · The Fugees". tunefind. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  16. 1 2 "New Music: Cigarettes After Sex – "Affection"". Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  17. ↑ "Tune: Cigarettes After Sex – "Affection"". Swell Tone. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
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