AS A LOVER OF SOOTHING, EVOCATIVE MUSIC, FINDING AN ALBUM THAT CAPTURES A PERFECT BLEND OF MELANCHOLY AND TRANQUILITY IS LIKE DISCOVERING A RARE GEM. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I FIRST LISTENED TO THE 2012 EP TITLED "I" BY CIGARETTES AFTER SEX. THIS SHORT COLLECTION OF SONGS HAS NOT ONLY CAPTIVATED MY EARS BUT HAS ALSO RESONATED WITH MY SOUL, BECOMING A STAPLE IN MY PLAYLIST EVER SINCE.
THE SOUND: ENVELOPING SOFTNESS WITH A HAUNTING ECHO
THE SOUND OF CIGARETTES AFTER SEX'S EP IS PROFOUNDLY DISTINCTIVE. IMAGINE A LATE-NIGHT DRIVE THROUGH A MISTY CITY, THE STREETS EMPTY AND THE GLOW OF STREETLIGHTS CASTING LONG SHADOWS. THAT'S THE MOOD THIS MUSIC EVOKES. THE BAND UTILIZES A MINIMALISTIC APPROACH, WITH SLOW, DELIBERATE TEMPOS THAT MAKE EVERY NOTE AND SILENCE FEEL INTENTIONAL. GREG GONZALEZ'S VOCALS, ETHEREAL AND WHISPERY, SEEM TO FLOAT OVER THE GENTLE STRUMMING OF ELECTRIC GUITARS, CREATING AN ALMOST DREAMLIKE QUALITY. THE USE OF REVERB IS MASTERFUL, GIVING THE SONGS AN AIRY, EXPANSIVE FEEL THAT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE LISTENING TO THEM IN A VAST, OPEN CATHEDRAL AT NIGHT.
THE LYRICS: INTIMATE WHISPERS THAT ECHO IN THE SOUL
LYRICALLY, THE EP DELVES INTO THEMES OF LOVE, LONGING, AND INTROSPECTION. THE LYRICS ARE SIMPLE YET PROFOUNDLY INTIMATE, ALMOST AS IF YOU ARE READING SNIPPETS FROM A PERSONAL DIARY OR OVERHEARING A CONFESSION. LINES LIKE "I KNOW YOU'RE SLEEPING BY NOW" FROM THE TRACK "NOTHING'S GONNA HURT YOU BABY" CREATE A VIVID PICTURE OF LONGING AND PROTECTIVENESS. THERE'S A UNIVERSALITY IN THE WORDS THAT MAKES THEM RELATABLE, YET THEY ARE DELIVERED WITH SUCH PERSONAL INFLECTION THAT THEY FEEL UNIQUELY INTIMATE.
THE POWER IN GENTLENESS
PERHAPS THE MOST STRIKING ASPECT OF CIGARETTES AFTER SEX’S SOUND IS HOW THEY MANAGE TO CONVEY POWER THROUGH GENTLENESS. THE SOFTNESS OF THE MUSIC DOES NOT DIMINISH ITS IMPACT; RATHER, IT ENHANCES IT. EVERY CHORD AND EVERY NOTE CARRIES WEIGHT, AND THE QUIETNESS OF THE SOUND MAKES YOU LEAN IN AND LISTEN MORE CLOSELY. IT'S A REMINDER THAT POWER IN MUSIC ISN'T ALWAYS ABOUT VOLUME OR COMPLEXITY; SOMETIMES, THE MOST POWERFUL MUSICAL EXPERIENCES COME FROM THE SIMPLEST, MOST HONEST EXPRESSIONS.
THIS EP IS MORE THAN JUST BACKGROUND MUSIC; IT'S A SONIC EXPERIENCE THAT DEMANDS YOUR ATTENTION AND REWARDS YOU WITH A RICH, EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE. IT'S THE KIND OF MUSIC THAT BESTOWS A SENSE OF PEACE AND INTROSPECTION, OFFERING A SOUNDTRACK FOR THOSE MOMENTS OF QUIET REFLECTION OR LATE-NIGHT CONVERSATIONS.
FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T YET EXPERIENCED THE HAUNTING BEAUTY OF CIGARETTES AFTER SEX'S 2012 EP "I", I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GIVING IT A LISTEN. LET YOURSELF BE ENVELOPED BY ITS SERENE, MELANCHOLIC SOUNDSCAPES. IT'S A PROFOUND REMINDER OF THE EMOTIVE POWER OF MUSIC, CAPABLE OF TOUCHING THE DEEPEST PARTS OF OUR SOULS WITH NOTHING BUT WHISPERS AND GENTLE STRUMS.
LISTEN AT NIGHT IN BED,
CHRIS HOBBICK
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