Your Lips, My Lips

Cigarettes After Sex “Apocalypse”

Cigarettes After Sex is a good name for this band, if just because it so effectively conveys the aesthetic of their music. Every song on their debut record could accurately be described as “dreamy,” “hazy,” “romantic,” and “languid,” and the guitar parts often sound like the stuff Beach House and Mazzy Star forgot to write. The familiar vibe is more a feature than a bug, particularly as their sparkly/drifty guitars and slo-mo beats are often contrasted with a vocal melodies that are closer to contemporary pop in the vein of Lana Del Rey than anything Beach House has ever been up to. Greg Gonzalez’s voice isn’t totally androgynous, but his tone and phrasing can be off-handedly feminine in a way that suggests gender fluidity more than gender-bending. I particularly like how his voice is mic’d and mixed on “Apocalypse” – it sounds like a whisper very close to your ear, and it exaggerates the intimate vibe of the music.

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