Today, Cigarettes After Sex announce their new LP, titled X’s (due 7/12), alongside their upcoming world tour, which features shows at some of the globe’s most iconic venues, like Madison Square Garden and London’s O2, with more Korean, Indian, Singapore, UAE, Taiwan, South American dates and more Asia shows to be announced at a later date.
Filled with raw, imagistic, sometimes smutty vignettes set to entrancing, slowburn pop songs, bandleader Greg Gonzalez captures every emotion a romantic arc inspires. But where previous albums have drawn from an amalgam of relationships, for the most part, X’s centralizes on just one relationship that spanned four years.
“The record feels brutal,” admits Gonzalez. “I could sit and talk about this loss to someone, but that wouldn’t scratch the surface. I have to really write about it, sing about it, have the music, and then I can start to analyze and learn from it. Or just relive it—in a good way. I don’t have that Eternal Sunshine-thing of wanting to forget.”
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. While (in typical Cigarettes style) these changes may be subtle, the overall resulting energy is akin to disco ball-refracted tears on the dance floor.
Today also marks the release of the record’s first single, “Tejano Blue”, a nod to the music of bandleader Greg Gonzalez’s Texas childhood, resulting in the most instantly memorable version (and liveliest tempo) yet of the band’s signature sensual, timeless, love songs.
Gonzalez explains: “I grew up in El Paso & Tejano music is huge there. You could go to a lot of the bars in the city & hear artists like Selena, Los Ángeles Azules & La Mafia playing over the speakers. It was in the atmosphere around me back then, but I always rejected it & gravitated towards anything else I was attracted to really.
“Years later when I was living in New York City I finally started listening to Selena’s ‘Como La Flor’ at the same time that I was also listening to a lot of Cocteau Twins. I had the idea then to try to combine both of their sounds somehow, which felt a bit strange, but also felt like it was coming from a genuine place of rediscovering & finally connecting with the music that I heard around me in my youth.”
“Tejano Blue” is available today via All DSPs, and Cigarettes After Sex’s new LP, X’s, is out July 12th via Partisan Records.
You can see the band live on their world tour starting this Fall. Tickets will be available starting with an artist presale beginning Tuesday, March 5 at 10am local time for North American dates only. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Friday, March 8 at 10am local time at cigarettesaftersex.com.
Cigarettes After Sex wants to give fans, not scalpers, the best chance to buy tickets at face value. To make this possible they have chosen to use Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange. If fans purchase tickets for a show and can’t attend, they’ll have the option to resell them to other fans at the original price paid. To help protect the Exchange, Cigarettes After Sex have requested all tickets be mobile only and restricted from transfer. This applies to all shows except those in CO, UT, IL and NY where Face Value Exchange cannot be mandated. Please note, a valid bank account or debit card within the country of your event is required to sell on the Face Value Exchange.
CIGARETTES AFTER SEX TOUR DATES
North American Dates
15 JUN 2024 / US / Manchester, TN / Bonnaroo
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
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
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 / Fort Worth, TX / Dickies Arena
23 SEP 2024 / US / Chicago, IL / United Center
24 SEP 2024 / US / Saint 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
07 OCT 2024 / US / San Diego, CA / Viejas Arena
08 OCT 2024 / US / Phoenix, AZ / Desert Diamond Arena
11 OCT 2024 / US / Los Angeles, CA / Kia Forum
15 OCT 2024 / MX / Mexico City / Palacio de los Deportes
EU/UK Dates
25 OCT 2024 / GR / Athens / OAKA Indoor Arena
28 OCT 2024 / NL / Amsterdam / Ziggo Dome
29 OCT 2024 / BE / Brussels / Forest National
01 NOV 2024 / IT / Milan / Forum
03 NOV 2024 / AT / Vienna / Wiener Stadthalle
05 NOV 2024 / PL / Warsaw / COS Torwar
07 NOV 2024 / DE / Berlin / Uber Arena
09 NOV 2024 / CH / Basel / St Jakobshalle
10 NOV 2024 / DE / Cologne / Lanxess Arena
12 NOV 2024 / UK / London / The O2
16 NOV 2024 / FR / Paris / Accor Arena
17 NOV 2024 / FR / Lyon / Halle Tony Garnier
20 NOV 2024 / ES / Madrid / WiZink Center
21 NOV 2024 / PT / Lisbon / Altice Arena
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
South Africa Dates
5 MAR 2025 / ZA / Cape Town / Grand Arena at GrandWest
7 MAR 2025 / ZA / Pretoria / SunBet Arena
AU/NZ Dates
12 MAR 2025 / AU / Melbourne / Rod Laver Arena
14 MAR 2025 / AU / Sydney / ICC Theatre
17 MAR 2025 / AU / Brisbane / Brisbane Entertainment Centre
19 MAR 2025 / NZ / Auckland / Spark Arena