Cigarettes After Sex wants you to “Cry” with their latest studio release
By: Julien Khurey
Staff Writer
Cigarettes After Sex is an ambient dream pop band founded in El Paso, Texas. Their sound usually consisting of a slow-paced, muted palette that is heavily vocal-driven.
Following their debut self-titled album, Cigarettes After Sex is back with their follow up project “Cry.”
Cigarettes After Sex kicked off their album”Cry” with their intro track “Don’t Let Me Go.” Staying true to the band’s formula, the track was filled with beautiful spacey synths and minimalistic guitar chords touched with reverb and steady drum patterns.
Together in harmony, the band creates an airy soundscape that makes you feel as if you are going to float away like a red balloon through a quiet cloudy grey sky. That is until the lead singer Greg Gonzalez’s heavy vocals pull you down like an anchor. Do not worry all of it feels like it is meant to be, something that is part of a greater plan.
“Cry” holds true to its namesake with every track on the project touching on the ups, the downs and the self-doubt that usually tails relationships.
On the track “Kiss It Off Me,” Cigarettes After Sex’s lead singer Greg Gonzalez rifts a drowsy melody that slows down time, admiring his love conquest crooning “Saw you on the side of the road I could see you walkin’ slow.” He later follows those lines with “if you’re going to break my heart this is a good start.”
The combination of spacey instrumentals and self-aware heavy vocals combine for a sharp musical manifestation of love that would sweep you off your feet but can knowingly come crashing down at any time.
Cigarettes After Sex seems to have found a musical formula for”Cry” that checks correctly more often than not. One of those formulaic highlights being the track “Hentai.” It starts off spacey, leaving the lead guitar room to paint the track’s canvas with a minimal but smooth chord progression that Greg Gonzalez follows lightly singing “I’ve been waiting for you, to fall for me, and let me in your life, I’ve been waiting for you.”
That understanding of each instrument, including vocals, playing a role in the spacey world of “Cry” makes for a laser-focused project.
“Cry” is not without its missteps, as the project is riddled with vocal mixing errors. For example, the track “Falling In Love” gives off sharp feedback on the first verse almost ear piercing. Errors, such as the previous one mentioned, are sprinkled a few times throughout the project. These are amateur mistakes that should not be present in a studio album.
Mixing mishaps were not the only thing holding back the project. The formulaic process that lead to some amazing tracks swung back like a two-edged sword and made for repetitiveness throughout “Cry.”
Cigarettes After Sex are comfortable in their own world which made for a well-thought-out full-length project. Holding true to the duality themes of love, the same things that made for climaxes also lead to low points. Final review Cigarettes After Sex hit their stride on “Cry.” 8/10