Beginning as a casual project between Alex Luciano (guitar) and Noah Bowman (drums), New Paltz, New York’s Diet Cig have made a big statement out of five highly infectious pop songs. The pair met under rather unusual circumstances: Luciano, desperate for a lighter, interrupted the set of Bowman’s other band, Earl Boykins. No lighter was to be found, but a friendship was sparked and Diet Cig was born. The duo’s February 2015 debut EP, Over Easy, consists of lyrics written by Luciano in her bedroom. While recalling the sound of speedy twee-pop groups like Tiger Trap and All Girl Summer Fun Band, the record explores “the innocence of adolescence and infatuation.” With Bowman’s crashing drum kit offering stationary support, Luciano becomes an onstage tornado as lines between band and audience blur into a massive dance party.
Diet Cig return with their new seven-inch, Sleep Talk / Dinner Date. “Sleep Talk” begins where Over Easy left off, with the candidly self-analytical statement, “I can’t play instruments very well and I’ll eat all of your cereal.” While this line may feel lighthearted, the narrative quickly grows complicated with the gentle admission, “If I told you I loved you I don’t know who it would scare away faster.” “Dinner Date” continues the theme of painful retrospection and vulnerability as Luciano examines familial disappointment. Both songs offer a more complex level of intimacy and prove that Diet Cig are here to stay.
Sleep Talk / Dinner Date is a Father/Daughter and Art Is Hard co-release. The 7-inch is limited to 1000 copies on white frosted clear vinyl. The songs with be available digitally — “Sleep Talk” on July 10 and “Dinner Date” on August 21 — and will be released on vinyl September 18. Like Over Easy, it was recorded with Christopher Daly at Salvation Recording Company in New Paltz, NY and mastered by Jamal Ruhe at West West Side Music.
Catch them live here:
9/01/15 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
9/02/15 – Portland, OR – Bunk Bar
9/03/15 – Reno, NV – Holland Project
9/05/15 – San Francisco, CA – Hemlock Tavern
9/06/15 – Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg
9/08/15 – San Diego, CA – Hideout
9/09/15 – Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge
9/12/15 – Denver, CO – Lost Lake Lounge
9/14/15 – Kansas City, MO – Record Bar
9/15/15 – Dallas, TX – Double Wide
9/16/15 – Austin, TX – Mohawk (inside)
9/17/15 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
9/18/15 – Tallahassee, FL – Florida State University (w/ Diarrhea Planet)
9/20/15 – Atlanta, GA – Purgatory (Masquerade)
9/21/15 – Memphis, TN – Hi Tone
9/23/15 – Detroit, MI – UFO
9/24/15 – Grand Rapids, MI – Founders Brewery (w/ Vamos & Ponyshow)
9/25/15 – Cleveland, OH – Mahalls (w/ Sheer Mag)
9/26/15 – Cincinnati, OH – Midpoint Fest
9/27/15 – Pittsburg, PA – Spirit