𝑿’𝒔 – the new album by Cigarettes After Sex is out now
Cigarettes After Sex Share “X’s” Single,
Read New York Times Feature
Watch Jimmy Kimmel Live! Performance +
World Arena Tour Selling Out Fast, Tickets On Sale Now
X’s LP Out Today via Partisan Records
Photo Cred: Ebru Yildiz
PURCHASE & SHARE: X’s LP
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LISTEN & SHARE: Cigarettes After Sex – “X’s”
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PRAISE FOR CIGARETTES AFTER SEX
“By stealth, Cigarettes After Sex has become one of the biggest cult bands in the world.”
– New York Times, Ben Sisario
“Greg Gonzalez, the songwriter behind Cigarettes After Sex, sets decadent, morbid, sex-and-drugs scenarios to plush, slow-motion retro-rock that David Lynch might appreciate. In “Dark Vacay” he’s taking pills, “sipping Château Lafite Rothschild” and listening “to the last message that you left/Then the voice from the suicide hotline.” He’s calm, even a little self-satisfied, as he invites someone to “Feel it all around you/Crash and fall.””
– New York Times, Jon Pareles
“With X’s, Gonzalez presents his most polished songwriting to date, turning in some of his DIY tendencies for lush production and an emphasis on cohesion.”
– UPROXX
“X’s is an album that encapsulates this bittersweetness. Despite what critics might say about one-dimensionality, Cigarettes After Sex offer us soft-spoken consistency in a tumultuous world. In their tender dream-pop, grief and desire stroll side by side on the shore of memory.”
– The Line of Best Fit
“X’s fuses Cigarettes After Sex’s dream pop strengths with ‘90s pop warmth and ‘70s dance floor glow. Always one to bring listeners into the moment, Gonzalez imbues the record with a lyrical specificity that gives the taste of pink lemonade and the tension of a deteriorating relationship equal weight. On X’s, the listener can feel the immediate joy and lingering pain in equal measure.”
– Grammy.com
“That Cigarettes After Sex trade in sensuous, shoegazey indie-pop – they’re a mainstay on bedroom playlists – means you wouldn’t necessarily think of them as a stadium band. Yet the numbers don’t lie. A bona fide streaming phenomenon, they achieve the same kind of eye-watering numbers on Spotify as the likes of Taylor Swift and Drake… Those fans will be pleased to know that Cigarettes’ latest album, X’s, is their best yet.”
– Independent
Today, Cigarettes After Sex share their highly anticipated LP, X’s. Along with the release of the full LP, the band is highlighting the title track “X’s”, a mirrorball slow dance through memories of new love with frontman/bandleader Greg Gonzalez. A stunner of an opening track, “X’s” showcases Greg’s unmatched ability to blend classic pop song structures with sensual, dreamy, and deeply romantic songwriting.Greg explains: “The story of this song takes place in the house I was living in near the Hollywood Hills, where most of the album was recorded, and where the romance that runs through it occurred. I see those rooms when I hear this song. The sensuality of that relationship along with the sweetness & sadness of that time. Usually the songs of mine that I love most are the ones that are romantic, but have a little eroticism to them. They can be kind of dirty, but still feel sweet when I listen to them. The title is based on the famous photos Bert Stern took of Marilyn Monroe in 1962 for Vogue magazine…”
“X’s” follows previous singles “Tejano Blue,” “Dark Vacay,” and “Baby Blue Movie,” and comes ahead of the band’s headline global arena tour on which they’ve already sold out venues like NYC’s Madison Square Garden, London’s O2 Arena, and more.
With X’s, Cigarettes After Sex finally takes center stage as not just one of today’s preeminent indie bands, but as one of the most globally accomplished acts across any genre, whose often unconventional path to superstardom has helped reshape the very definition of success for artists in the modern era.
Since the release of “Tejano Blue,” with the announcement of X’s and the corresponding global arena tour, Cigarettes After Sex have racked up over 65M plays on all singles from this record so far. They are currently the #246 most-streamed artist in the world on the platform, with over 25M monthly listeners. The tour – which includes venues like Madison Square Garden, The Forum, the o2 Arena and more – is off to a tremendous start with sellouts in London, Warsaw, Sydney, Athens, Brussels, Lyon, Cape Town, Paris, Amsterdam and Singapore. In the states, dates in San Diego, Orlando, Oakland, New York City and both nights in LA have sold out. Over 500k tickets have been sold worldwide thus far and demand saw them adding extra shows in LA, London, Athens, Warsaw, Cape Town, Melbourne, and Sydney. The news spread quickly, with writeups in Stereogum, Consequence, Brooklyn Vegan, Pollstar, the NY Post and more. Enthusiasm for the track has led to early radio adds across the country at multiple formats, and a quick debut on the Alternative Top 40. All of this activity comes amid a flurry of growth on social media, with the band eclipsing the 4M follower mark on Instagram, and hitting half a Million on TikTok with only three posts on the platform. Not content to let new music have all the shine, the band’s self-titled record just enjoyed a new chart peak on the Billboard 200 in its 50th week on the chart.
Cigarettes After Sex’s new LP, X’s, is out now via Partisan Records.
You can see the band live on their world tour starting this Fall. Tickets are on sale now.
CIGARETTES AFTER SEX TOUR DATES
North American Dates
31 AUG 2024 / CA / Montreal, QC / Centre Bell
01 SEP 2024 / CA / Toronto, ON / Scotiabank Arena
03 SEP 2024 / US / Philadelphia, PA / Wells Fargo Center
04 SEP 2024 / US / Boston, MA / TD Garden
06 SEP 2024 / US / New York, NY / Madison Square Garden **SOLD OUT**
10 SEP 2024 / US / Columbia, MD / Merriweather Post Pavilion
11 SEP 2024 / US / Raleigh, NC / PNC Arena
13 SEP 2024 / US / Orlando, FL / Kia Center **SOLD OUT**
14 SEP 2024 / US / Atlanta, GA / State Farm Arena
17 SEP 2024 / US / San Antonio, TX / Frost Bank Center
18 SEP 2024 / US / Houston, TX / Toyota Center
20 SEP 2024 / US / Austin, TX / Moody Center
21 SEP 2024 / US / Dallas, TX / Dickies Arena
23 SEP 2024 / US / Chicago, IL / United Center
24 SEP 2024 / US / St Paul, MN / Xcel Energy Center
27 SEP 2024 / CA / Vancouver, BC / Rogers Arena
28 SEP 2024 / US / Seattle, WA / Climate Pledge Arena
30 SEP 2024 / US / Portland, OR / Moda Center
02 OCT 2024 / US / Greenwood Village, CO / Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
03 OCT 2024 / US / Salt Lake City, UT / Delta Center
05 OCT 2024 / US / Oakland, CA / Oakland Arena **SOLD OUT**
07 OCT 2024 / US / San Diego, CA / Viejas Arena **SOLD OUT**
08 OCT 2024 / US / Phoenix, AZ / Desert Diamond Arena
11 OCT 2024 / US / Los Angeles, CA / KIA Forum **SOLD OUT**
12 OCT 2024 / US / Los Angeles, CA / KIA Forum **SOLD OUT**
15 OCT 2024 / MX / Mexico City / Palacio de los Deportes
EU/UK Dates
25 OCT 2024 / GR / Athens / OAKA Indoor Arena **SOLD OUT**
26 OCT 2024 / GR / Athens / OAKA Indoor Arena
28 OCT 2024 / NL / Amsterdam / Ziggo Dome **SOLD OUT**
29 OCT 2024 / BE / Brussels / Forest National **SOLD OUT**
01 NOV 2024 / IT / Milan / Forum
03 NOV 2024 / AT / Vienna / Wiener Stadthalle
05 NOV 2024 / PL / Warsaw / COS Torwar **SOLD OUT**
06 NOV 2024 / PL / Warsaw / COS Torwar **SOLD OUT**
07 NOV 2024 / DE / Berlin / Uber Arena
09 NOV 2024 / CH / Basel / St Jakobshalle
10 NOV 2024 / DE / Cologne / Lanxess Arena **SOLD OUT**
12 NOV 2024 / UK / London / The O2 Arena **SOLD OUT**
13 NOV 2024 / UK / London / The O2 Arena
16 NOV 2024 / FR / Paris / Accor Arena **SOLD OUT**
17 NOV 2024 / FR / Lyon / Halle Tony Garnier **SOLD OUT**
20 NOV 2024 / ES / Madrid / WiZink Center
21 NOV 2024 / PT / Lisbon / Altice Arena **SOLD OUT**
Asia Dates
9 JAN 2025 / HK / Hong Kong / Asia World-Expo, Hall 5
11 JAN 2025 / MY / Kuala Lumpur / Sunway Lagoon
14 JAN 2025 / PH / Manila / MOA Arena
17 JAN 2025 / ID / Jakarta / Beach City International
21 JAN 2025 / TH / Bangkok / Impact Exhibition Hall 5
31 JAN 2025 / UAE / Dubai / Coca-Cola Arena
3 Feb 2025 / SIN / Singapore / Indoor Stadium **SOLD OUT**
South Africa Dates
4 MAR 2025 / ZA / Cape Town / Grand Arena at Grand West
5 MAR 2025 / ZA / Cape Town / Grand Arena at Grand West **SOLD OUT**
7 MAR 2025 / ZA / Pretoria / Sunbet Arena
AU/NZ Dates
11 MAR 2025 / AU / Melbourne / Rod Laver Arena
12 MAR 2025 / AU / Melbourne / Rod Laver Arena **SOLD OUT**
14 MAR 2025 / AU / Sydney / ICC Sydney Theatre **SOLD OUT**
15 MAR 2025 / AU / Sydney / ICC Sydney Theatre **SOLD OUT**
17 MAR 2025 / AU / Brisbane / Brisbane Entertainment Centre
19 MAR 2025 / NZ / Auckland / Spark Arena
X’s Biography
Ten years ago Greg Gonzalez was having a really rough Valentine’s Day. Freshly heartbroken with no hope of reconciliation, he spent two hours driving from his hometown El Paso to play a show, and he listened to Sade’s “By Your Side” on repeat both ways. “The experience that day stuck in my bones—it was an idea that I couldn’t forget,” says Gonzalez, the frontman of Cigarettes After Sex. “I thought, how do I make a record that feels like that?”
With each record—the initial 2012 EP, 2017’s eponymous debut album, and 2019’s Cry—Gonzalez has been faithful to his muse: love. In raw, imagistic, sometimes smutty vignettes set to entrancing, slowburn pop songs, Gonzalez captures every emotion a romantic arc inspires. But where previous albums have drawn from an amalgam of relationships, for the most part, their third, eagerly anticipated LP, X’s, centralizes on just one relationship that spanned four years.
This period was one of immense personal growth for Gonzalez, but it was also during these years that Cigarettes After Sex would hit staggering new levels in their career. The build has certainly been cumulative, beginning slowly with the virality around their earliest music and accelerated by a ceaseless tour ethic that has carried them all over the world, from Chile to Egypt to Indonesia and everywhere in between.
But something else happened in the worldwide pandemic pause. Cry came out at the tail-end of 2019 and wasn’t really toured until two years later, and in that gulf of time the band found themselves thrust into becoming more than simply a preeminent indie act, but as one of the most globally accomplished acts across any genre, ready to take center stage as superstars.
The proof is in the numbers: Their 24 million monthly Spotify listeners sits them squarely in the platform’s top 250 most-streamed artists. Their music has been used 6.4 billion times (and counting) on TikTok, holding five spots in the top 1% of all viral audio creations. In 2023 they sold over 200k tickets globally (without being in an album cycle).
This ongoing rise is made all the more remarkable when you consider the band remain shadowy figures, there are no CAS music videos and their artwork is forever in moody monochrome. But in the era of the cult of personality, perhaps it’s this ongoing adherence to aesthetic, the rejection of overexposure in favor of a little mystique, that’s created the space for fans to truly commune with their music, sharing it like an illicit secret.
And so we have X’s, another lean collection which, like previous Cigarettes After Sex records, is also characterized by the place these songs were recorded. There’s the El Paso college stairwell for the first EP, the Brooklyn rehearsal space for the first album, the courtyard in a house in Mallorca, Spain for Cry, and now the home at the foot of the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, where Gonzalez lived with his then-partner. While initial demos were captured live in August 2020, with longstanding bandmates Jacob Tomsky (drums) and Randall Miller (bass), the lion-share was recorded in a small bedroom, over the course of six live sessions from 2021 to 2022. With the addition of Jeff Kite on keys, the intimate spirit was the antithesis of a big studio vibe: the mood was relaxed and open and afterwards they’d hang out, listen to music, and drink wine.
While continuing to observe classic pop song structures, Gonzalez has moved away from the prior sonic touchstones of the 50s and 60s, finding himself now drawn to a 70s/80s slow dance. But in typical Cigarettes style, these influences are subtle—in the drums regimented to a click, in the beat and bop of “Baby Blue Movie,” and in the overall energy akin to disco ball-refracted tears on the dance floor.
And then there’s Gonzalez’s constant throughline: his deft use of reverb and space, and his soothing, androgynous vocals, which he laid down in the Spring/Summer of 2023, when the singer was still deep in his grief. Instead of waiting for the healing balm of perspective, Gonzalez pressed on the bruise and harnessed the hurt.
“I have to confront everything I went through, that’s just how I make peace,” confirms Gonzalez. “These are like photographs, and if I write a song then it’ll always be dear to me, and yes, it’s painful that it’s gone, but I’m just so fucking lucky I had that ever.”
X’s – TRACKLISTING
1. X’s
2. Tejano Blue
3. Silver Sable
4. Hideaway
5. Holding you, Holding me
6. Dark Vacay
7. Baby Blue Movie
8. Hot
9. Dreams From Bunker Hill
10. Ambien Slide
CIGARETTES AFTER SEX
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