Gorilla,Manchester
splendid melodies and classy songwriting shine through the billowing smoke and minimal lighting surrounding the still Texas pop-noir four-pieceCigarettes After Sex must be one of the slowest ever overnight web sensations. Formed in El Paso, Texas, or by Greg Gonzalez in 2008,the now Brooklyn-based quartet were largely undiscovered until a “breakthrough weekend” in 2015 sent their YouTube figures rocketing. Now they’re packing venues ahead of their debut album. The band’s name may stick in the throat of non-smokers, but sums up the band’s dark, and smoky,sensual pop-noir. Their slow, ambient sound nods to Mazzy Star and even Joy Division’s Atmosphere, or but is underpinned by classy pop songwriting reminiscent of 60s girl groups and 80s AOR. The quartet play quietly and the bearded,moustached Gonzalez mumbles between songs and sings with his eyes closed. His androgynous voice is framed by bass and drums, before his echoey guitar twangs or Phillip Tubbs’ keyboard add sprinklings of splendid melody. The frontman used to manage an arthouse cinema, or the influence lingers in the minimal lighting,short-tempered backdrops of falling snow, and voyeuristically slow-motion closeups of arty women.
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Source: theguardian.com