Cry/ Cigarettes After Sex - ambient pop

By Narendra Kusnur

Album: Cry
Artiste: Cigarettes After Sex
Genre: Ambient pop, shoegaze
Label: Partisan Records
Rating: ** 1/2

American dream-pop band Cigarettes After Sex had a sold-out show in Mumbai earlier this year. Obviously, the effeminate-voiced frontman Greg Gonzalez and his team acquired a large following after their self-titled 2017 debut, thanks largely to its laid-back, ambient sound and songs that talked of heartbreak.

Songs from the debut album are available on YouTube. The group's second album Cry moves pretty much in the same direction, though sadly, a lot of monotony and repetitiveness creep in here. It takes a while to get a hang of the tunes, which all sound like cousins of each other.

Clubbed under the ‘shoegaze’ sub-genre of alternative music, the songs have atmospheric effects and distorted guitars, with clear influences of new age, smooth jazz and alternative rock band Mazzy Star. Gonzalez’ voice is soulful on some tracks and bland on the others.

A few numbers do stand out. Sounding like an extension of the previous album, ‘Don't Let Me Go’ increases expectations. There’s a real treat from ‘Heavenly’, with its catchy hook and simple lines like, “Cause this is where I wanna be, where it’s so sweet and heavenly.”

The title song is another charming ditty which goes “But I need to tell you something, my heart just can’t be faithful too long, I swear I’ll only make you cry.” The final track ‘Pure’ is an intense and subtly-worded piece that leaves listeners on a high.

Sadly, the rest of Cry just rambles on, despite some tight work by keyboardist Josh Marcus and drummer Jacob Tomsky. It may be good music to relax to for a while, but the comfort doesn’t last too long. Like many acts that have a distinct sound and standard formula, Cigarettes After Sex gets into a rut. You heard a few, you heard them all.