Elsewhere, Gonzalez mounts movies in miniature with the photographic references of ‘Flash’ and Fitzcarraldo echoes of ‘Opera House’, a song so lovingly languid it could, conceivably, soundtrack a man hauling ships over mountains for love. Swooning in the spirit of influences such as Mazzy Star and Red House Painters, its sumptuous songs of love elevate Cigarettes to the ranks of those acts who create worlds of their own, exciting the most devoted kind of following.

Review: The last ten years have seen no shortage of bands with their delay pedals set to stun intent on capturing an aura of dreamlike radiance. 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. Unhurried at all times, Gonzalez's melodic and wistful vignettes tend to paint pictures of yearning lovers out of reach and the devil finding work for idle { right } hands. No regrets, though, as Greg Gonzalez muses on sensuality, the loss of those we care about, the loss of self to another and the endless yearning of the human heart.But it's all good stuff really, its soothing sameness likely to provide a comfort blanket in THOSE moments rather than becoming a bore chore like say the second XX album. Packed with an exquisite, opiate balladry at once heartfelt and heartbroken, it's hard to tell whether this is exactly what you need to hear when living through your blue period or precisely what you shouldn't listen to. Bubblegum” and “Stop Waiting” are the latest pair of singles from Cigarettes After Sex, and their first new music of 2023. Never breaking into a sweat, the band float along on a cushion of chiming guitar arpeggios and supply just the right amount of ambience as all the while a constant tambourine echoes through the tracks from start to finish. Recorded and finessed by Gonzalez himself during sessions in the middle of the night in Spain, it’s another suite of meditations on intimacy and heartbreak.

Yet Texas 'pop-noir' troupe Cigarettes After Sex are no ordinary shoegazers, for a variety of reasons - frontman Greg Gonzalez' androgynous and dulcet tones may be part of the appeal, yet moreover it's the quality of the songwriting here, which never falls prey to the style-over-substance traps of their peers. stars out of 5 -- "Band leader Greg Gonzalez's languid dream pop bleeds into one beautiful, fuzzy-headed whole.We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. For items that are dispatched using our standard service, we ask that you wait 14 days from the date of dispatch before reporting any items as undelivered.