Cigarettes After Sex

Cigarettes After Sex is an American dream pop band formed in El Paso, Texas, in 2008, founded by Greg Gonzalez. The band is known for their ethereal, limerent and often dream-like musical style, lyrics often based on the themes of romance and love, as well as Gonzalez's voice, which has been described as "androgynous".[7] While marketed as an ambient pop band, Cigarettes After Sex are also considered to be shoegaze, ambient pop, slowcore and indie rock.

Cigarettes After Sex
Greg Gonzalez of Cigarettes After Sex performing at Positivus Festival in July 2017
Background information
Origin	El Paso, Texas, US
Genres	Dream pop[1][2] shoegaze[3] ambient pop[4] slowcore[5] indie rock[6]
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Partisan
Website	www.cigarettesaftersex.com
Members	Greg Gonzalez Jacob Tomsky Randall Miller Josh Marcus
Past members	Greg Leah Steven Herrada Emily Davis Phillip Tubbs

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 in June 2017 to positive reviews.

In August 2019, the band announced their second studio album, titled Cry, along with the single "Heavenly". The album was released on October 25, 2019.

History

Cigarettes After Sex was formed in El Paso, Texas, in 2008.[8][9][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]

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".[10][11]

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.[12][7][13]

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] In an interview with Sound of Boston, he also noted films such as L'Avventura and The Double Life of Veronique were influential to the feel and sound of the music in "Affection" and their LP.[14] The band also includes The Cowboy Junkies' album The Trinity Session, Julee Cruise, and Cocteau Twins as influences.[9][15] 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[15] 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."[16]

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."[11]

Members

Since inception in 2008, the group has included a number of different members and collaborators led by Greg Gonzalez:[10]

Current members

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

Former members

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

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US [17]	AUS [18]	AUT [19]	BEL [20]	FRA [21]	GER [22]	ITA [23]	NLD [24]	SWI [25]	UK [26]
Cigarettes After Sex	Released: June 9, 2017[27] Label: Partisan	—[upper-alpha 1]	96	18	5	42	39	88	53	21	27
Cry	Released: October 25, 2019[29] Label: Partisan	152	61	26	8	27	29	60	37	19	36
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

• I. (2012)

Singles

Title	Year	Album
"Affection"[30]	2015	Non-album single
"K."[31]	2016	Cigarettes After Sex
"Apocalypse"[32]	2017
"Each Time You Fall in Love"[33]
"Sweet"[34]
"Crush"[35]	2018	Non-album singles
"Neon Moon"[36]
"Heavenly"[37]	2019	Cry
"Falling in Love"[38]
"You're All I Want"[39]	2020	Non-album single

Demos

• Cigarettes After Sex (Romans 13:9) (2018)

Notes

1. Cigarettes After Sex did not enter the US Billboard 200, but peaked at number eight on the Heatseekers Albums chart.[28]

References

1. Cook, Cameron (June 8, 2017). "Cigarettes After Sex: Cigarettes After Sex". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
2. "Cigarettes After Sex: Cry". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
3. BrushedRed (March 21, 2017). "New Cigarettes After Sex Album". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
4. Lathan, Ryan (June 21, 2017). "Cigarettes After Sex: Cigarettes After Sex". PopMatters. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
5. Hadi, Eddino Abdul (June 14, 2017). "The slow burn of Cigarettes After Sex's debut album". The Straits Times. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
6. "Cry". undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
7. "The Diehard Romanticism of Cigarettes After Sex | NOISEY". NOISEY. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
8. Simpson, Dave (April 19, 2017). "Cigarettes After Sex review – breathtaking ambient-pop enigmas". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
9. "Cigarettes After Sex - Tickets - The Echo - Los Angeles, California - April 27th, 2016". The Echo and Echoplex. Archived from the original on 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
10. "Records". Cigarettes After Sex. Archived from the original on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
11. "Review / Cigarettes After Sex / Affection". Independent Music News. Archived from the original on 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
12. "Cigarettes After Sex". Cigarettes After Sex.
13. "Cigarettes After Sex - 10 New Artists You Need to Know: January 2016". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
14. Bedian, Knar. "Interview: Cigarettes After Sex". Sound of Boston. Sound of Boston. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
15. "New Music: Cigarettes After Sex – "Affection"". Eardrumsmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
16. "Tune: Cigarettes After Sex – "Affection"". Swell Tone. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
17. "Cigarettes After Sex – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
18. Peak chart positions in Australia:
    • "Cigarettes After Sex": "ARIA Chart Watch #425". auspOp. June 17, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
    • "Cry": "ARIA Chart Watch #549". auspOp. November 2, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
19. "Cigarettes After Sex chart history". AustrianCharts.at. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
20. "Discografie Cigarettes After Sex". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
21. "Discographie Cigarettes After Sex". lescharts.com (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
22. "Discography Cigarettes After Sex". germancharts.de. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
23. "Cigarettes After Sex Italian Charting". Italian-charts.com. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
24. "Discografie Cigarettes After Sex". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
25. "Cigarettes After Sex Hitparade". Hit Parade. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
26. "Cigarettes After Sex full Official Chart History" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
27. "Cigarettes After Sex by Cigarettes After Sex on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
28. "Cigarettes After Sex – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
29. "Cigarettes After Sex by Cigarettes After Sex". Apple Music. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
30. "Affection – Single by Cigarettes After Sex". Apple Music. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
31. "K. – Single by Cigarettes After Sex". Apple Music. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
32. "Apocalypse – Single by Cigarettes After Sex". Apple Music. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
33. "Each Time You Fall In Love – Single by Cigarettes After Sex". Apple Music. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
34. "Sweet – Single by Cigarettes After Sex". Apple Music. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
35. "Crush – Single by Cigarettes After Sex". Apple Music. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
36. "New Moon – Single by Cigarettes After Sex". Apple Music. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
37. "Heavenly (2019) | Cigarettes After Sex". 7digital. United States. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
38. "Falling In Love (2019) | Cigarettes After Sex". 7digital. United States. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
39. "You're All I Want – Single by Cigarettes After Sex". Apple Music. Retrieved May 29, 2020.

External links

• Official website