Cigarettes After Sex

photoshoot of the current three members (from left to right); Jacob Tomsky, Greg Gonzalez, Randall Miller

## background information

### members

* Greg Gonzalez
* Jacob Tomsky
* Randall Miller

### past members

* Greg Leeah
* Steven Herrada
* Emily Davis
* Phillip Tubbs

### website

www.cigarettesaftersex.com

Cigarettes After Sex is an American dream pop band, originally formed in El Paso, Texas in 2008 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".

While referred as an ambient pop band, Cigarettes After Sex are also considered to be shoegaze, slowcore and indie rock.

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. The band's second studio album, *Cry*, was released on October 25, 2019.

## History

Cigarettes After Sex was formed in El Paso, Texas, in 2008. 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". Gonzalez relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where the band's debut single "Affection" was recorded and released in 2015 along with a cover of REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You".

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, with "K.", "Apocalypse", "Each Time You Fall in Love", and "Sweet" as its singles.

In August 2019, the band announced their second studio album, titled *Cry*, along with the singles "Heavenly" and "Falling in Love". The album was released on October 25, 2019.

The band released the single "You're All I Want", on May 2020, and took a one year hiatus from posting music.

A new song, titled "Pistol", was released in November 2022.

The band released “Bubblegum”, their latest single, on July 2023 along with “Stop Waiting".

## 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". "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." Gonzalez cites Françoise Hardy as his favorite singer and Miles Davis as having great impact. 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. The band also includes the Cowboy Junkies' album *The Trinity Session*, Julee Cruise, and Cocteau Twins as influences. 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. 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."

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."

## Discography

> *main article: Cigarettes After Sex discography*
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### Studio albums

* *Cigarettes After Sex* (2017)
* *Cry* (2019)

 studio albums
 extended plays
 singles
 related