Cigarettes After Sex

History

Cigarettes After Sex was founded in El Paso, Texas in 2008. Gonzalez recorded the first EP, I., in a four-story stairway at his alma mater, University of Texas at El Paso, calling the experience "basically an accident; kind of an experiment". "Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby", "I'm A Firefighter", "Dreaming of You" and "Starry Eyes" were recorded for I.

Gonzalez relocated to Brooklyn, NY where the band's single, "Affection", was recorded and released in 2015 along with a cover of REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You".

Through music recommendations, Cigarettes After Sex has gained millions of views on YouTube leading to live performances across Europe & the US.

Members

Since inception in 2008, the group has included a number of different members and collaborators led by Greg Gonzalez:

Current members:

Previous members:

Musical style and influences

In a feature for Noisey by Vice, Christina Cacouris describes Cigarettes After Sex as "elemental, hazy and romantic, but with a noir edge underneath Gonzalez’s androgynous voice" as well as "sweet and sentimental". "As the band’s name suggests, it’s reminiscent of lying in bed, but its ambient qualities don’t prevent it from being music you can dance to." Gonzalez cites Francoise Hardy as his favorite singer and Miles Davis as having great impact. The band also includes Trinity Sessions, Julee Cruise and Cocteau Twins as influential. The music blog Eardrums Music describes the band as "slow, dreamy and beautiful with gorgeous, tender vocals and very good lyrics." and compares it to Mazzy Star and early Red House Painters. Music bloggers behind Swell Tone describe Cigarettes After Sex as a band producing "melancholy, slow pop that will sweetly rock any listener into a listless stupor."

Reviewing Affection for Independentmusicnews.com, Jae Pyl concludes that "there’s just such an intimacy to Cigarettes After Sex’s sound that it’s impossible to not let it into the pit of your belly."

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles