Released:
Rating:
Diet Cig grasp hold of their emotions and use them to forge something wonderful.
Label: Frenchkiss Records
Released: 7th April 2017
Rating: ★★★★★
“It’s hard showing the world who you are, isn’t it?” Alex Luciano questions on ‘Bath Bomb’. Calling out their fears and concerns, on their debut album Diet Cig stand victorious. Whether spitting back at the world when it crosses the line or pulling the duvet covers further overhead when the real world gets too much, ‘Swear I’m Good At This’ is as refreshing as it is real.
On lead single ‘Tummy Ache’ the duo seize the moment with the upmost conviction. “I’ve been yelling my whole life, and finally it’s time to make my words count, in a way I haven’t quite figured out,” Luciano yells. They might still be working out the kinks, but with their debut record Diet Cig have found their voice so they’re standing up and making every moment count. From scrappy punk, through strident garage rock and breakaway pop hooks, to gentle acoustics and beyond, the New Paltz outfit demonstrate themselves capable of pretty much anything they turn their hands to.
“Something nice about knowing everyone feels hopeless, no one wants to think that they are all alone in this” the band lament on ‘Bite Back’ – essentially, that’s what this album is all about. It’s a rip-roaring expression of all the wonder and woe that makes life so vast and varied. With ‘Swear I’m Good At This’ Diet Cig grasp hold of their emotions and use them to forge something wonderful. It’s an increasingly more complex world we wake up to in a morning. Through the duo’s candid expression and contagious refrains, the record effotlessly balances between escapism and support as and when you seek it.
“I’m trying to take over the world,” Luciano rages on ‘Link In Bio’. With the power demonstrated here, we wouldn’t be surprised if that’s something Diet Cig achieve. Jess Goodman
