Pretend It’s 1994

Diet Cig “Breathless”

First off, I want to mention that I’ve been writing this site since 2002 and this is maybe the third or fourth time ever that I’ve featured an artist based in the Hudson Valley, which is where I’m from. This is a duo from New Paltz, and much respect to them for being from New Paltz instead of moving down to the city. The Hudson Valley is a pretty smart place to start a band these days – you’ll pay a lot less rent, get more space to practice, live near a lot of cool little arts communities along the Hudson, and still be close enough to play in NYC all the time. Look into it.

“Breathless” might be a pretty different song if Diet Cig lived in NYC rather than New Paltz. Alex Luciano is singing about getting her first apartment and enjoying the freedom of it all, but having the “wow, I’m an adult!” feeling severely undermined by, like, not having a lot of the basic stuff you need for an apartment, like kitchen supplies and shower curtains. This is nothing you can’t fix with a relatively inexpensive visit to Target, but wow, I’m sure a lot of you will recognize this feeling. The part that really gets me is when she’s worried about feeling lonely, and hopes that you’ll come hang out with her and watch The Simpsons with her on the floor. That’s just so sweet and real.

Buy it from Diet Cig’s Bandcamp page.