• 2008-

  Greg GonzalezVocals, guitar2008-

  Randall MillerBass2015-

  Jacob TomskyDrums2015-
• Cigarettes After Sex is an American dream pop band formed in El Paso, Texas in 2008 by Greg Gonzalez. Since its inception, the group has had various members, with Gonzalez being the one constant.
• Cigarettes After Sex's music has been described as dream pop, ambient pop, and slowcore. Their sound is characterized by Gonzalez's ethereal vocals, lush instrumentation, and atmospheric production. As the band's name suggests, it's reminiscent of lying in bed.
• Gonzalez writes his songs as if he's penning a letter to a friend or a past lover. "I just dig in on whatever vivid memory I have and then extract a song from it," he told Vice. "It feels really easy to write that way, because you're just mining what was already emotional in the first place."
• Gonzalez released the band's first EP, I., in 2012; he recorded it in a four-story stairway at his alma mater, the University of Texas at El Paso. It was "basically an accident; kind of an experiment," he admitted.
  
  The EP lay dormant until 2016 when it suddenly blew up online.
• Cigarettes After Sex's debut studio album, also titled Cigarettes After Sex, was released in 2017. The album was a slow burner. In the US it entered the Billboard 200 for the first time five years later in August 2022.
• The expansive and dramatic sound of Cigarettes' music can be traced back to Gonzalez's upbringing. His father's involvement in movie distribution instilled a love for storytelling and grand narratives. "I had a closet of a thousand movies, he told The Guardian. "I always thought: 'How can I write a song like a movie, where you picture a scene in your mind?'"
  
  This influence is further echoed by Gonzalez's own past working as a cinema manager in Manhattan. Surrounded by the world of film, it's no wonder Cigarettes' music feels so evocative and rich with visual imagery.

Comments

More Songfacts:

I Write The SongsBarry Manilow

Barry Manilow didn't write his #1 hit "I Write The Songs." Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys wrote it.

(Walking) In the RainThe Ronettes

Ronnie Spector nailed the vocal for The Ronettes song "(Walking) In the Rain" on the first take -- unheard of in the perfectionist producer Phil Spector's world.

We Belong TogetherMariah Carey

Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" was the best-selling song of the 2000s in the US.

Paper PlanesM.I.A.

"Paper Planes" was inspired by M.I.A.'s hassles trying to get a visa to enter America.

Then He Kissed MeThe Crystals

The '60s hit "Then He Kissed Me" was covered by The Beach Boys as "Then I Kissed Her."

Uptown FunkMark Ronson

"Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson was 2015's best-selling single in both the U.S. and U.K.

Editor's Picks

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

Butch VigSongwriter Interviews

The Garbage drummer/songwriter produced the Nirvana album Nevermind, and Smashing Pumpkins' Gish and Siamese Dream.

80s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

MTV, a popular TV theme song and Madonna all show up in this '80s music quiz.

Jon Oliva of Trans-Siberian OrchestraSongwriter Interviews

Writing great prog metal isn't easy, especially when it's for 60 musicians.

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Victoria WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

Despite appearances on Carson, Leno and a Pennebaker film, Williams remains a hidden treasure.