Cry - Cigarettes After Sex: Review
are a Texas based ambient pop band who date all the way back to the early years of the 2010's. They released their debut EP in 2012 and the record contained a sleeper his tune Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby that caused the band to continue released new music three years later. When their debut record turned heads in 2017 they went into full on band mode and soon announced the release of this record.
Review By Lavender:
I was actually pretty excited for the debut Cigarettes After Sex record when it dropped a few years ago, the single intrigued me and their sleeper hit debut song Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby had grown on me a lot. Unfortunately I didn't love as much of Cigarettes After Sex as I had hoped I would, and in my review I noted that I was worried about the band trying to put together a complete record of unique sounding tunes in the future. Cry is exactly what I was worried about as the ratio of good songs to utterly drab indie wallpaper is much more substantial on this record than on the bands debut.
Don't Let Me Go is the records opener and one of its more noteworthy tunes, the rise to its chorus and the performance are impactful but in a sweet and gorgeous way that I really enjoy. The song also features some of the better lyrics on this record making it one of the most complete final products. The good tracks continue with Kiss It Off Me a song that rides some sweet reverbed guitar licks so a sugary but emotional chorus. The record takes a pretty huge nosedive in quality here, but thankfully some of the tracks on the back end make up for it. Touch has what may be the catchiest vocal refrain on the record as well as a dreamy and completely blissful instrumental that I absolutely adore. And finally Falling In Love has a pretty sharp hook and while it can be a drag at certain points to get there I still came away from the song positively.
Cry is a track that I didn't love as a single but I think it is at least a little bit better within the context of the record. Despite sounding like a hazy blend of every other song here I think it gives off a very effective vibe that the record could really use right the song comes on. The closing track Pure isn't terrible either, its one of the songs that dips deeper into the very abstract, unfortunately to the point where it feels wandering sometimes.
The really rough moments come flat in the middle of the record making it one of the most difficult slogs I've had to listen to all year. Heavenly was one of the singles for this album which makes absolutely no sense as there is nothing here but the chorus refrain beaten absolutely to death, which does nothing for me whatsoever. You're The Only Good Thing In My Life is another massive drag with no real progression or change in any of the songs elements. The same boring passage gets even more boring when it it done over and over again to pad out time in a dreadful manner. Hentai is definitely the worst song here as not only is it one of the most boring but also the lyrics are a complete dumpster fire that I have no idea how anyone could take seriously.
Cry is the manifestation of an issue I think a lot of people saw coming with a band who makes music so airy that it can almost disappear while you're still listening to it. The flirtation with ambience without full commitment to it makes this record sound like an indie record failing its objective to fully grab your attention. While some of these songs are blissful listens that I consistently enjoyed the entire record as a cohesive experience is much more sleep inducing than creative, genre pushing, or unique. 5/10
