Cigarettes After Sex have just released a new dreamy banger titled “Tejano Blue.” The track is low-key, with soft, sultry, whispering vocals. I would say the track is very much in line with what the band is already known for, with their signature ambient and emotional style. Someone who is used to conventional pop might comment on this and say it sounds dull or lifeless. In the eyes of a fan, however, that is part of the charm. The lead vocalist of Cigarettes After Sex (CAS) says the track was inspired by his upbringing in El Paso, Texas. Also, as for musical influence, he mentions artists like Cocteau Twins and Selena. If you go listen to the album “Heaven or Las Vegas” by Cocteau Twins, for example, you might find some similarities in the sound.

I think listening to whole albums is very important. Just about as important as CAS’s upcoming album. The album is titled simply “X,” from what we know. It is set to be released on July 12, 2024. Even though that feels like a long time to wait, we have to remember they don’t owe us anything. It is amazing to hear the ability of CAS to capture a nostalgic feeling perfectly in their sound while still catering to a new audience. I can’t put my finger on it, but my intuition says that this track will go well with younger listeners as well as older ones.

When listening to the track, you want to turn up the volume. All the musical elements blend together extremely well with the lead singer's smooth voice. One of the hardest things about making a track like CAS has done with Tejano Blue is to make something where it all doesn’t just become a muddy mess. What I mean is that people often put the word “Lo-fi” over a track that was simply poorly recorded or produced because filtering out all of the high ends or not including them in the first place is an excellent way to remove any musical mis-noise. However, in the case for Tejano Blue, you can just hear that even though the track is extremely Lo-fi (think dull, bass-heavy, not a lot of high and snappy frequencies), it still is very easy to pick out the individual sounds. All I can say is, this is a sign that the song was carefully and masterfully created. If you listen to most of their tracks, it is not only Lo-fi. They will have some things happening that are very “close” to the ear (usually vocals), in addition to the Lo-fi reverberated sounds. This gives a really interesting sound of contrasts.

It is very interesting to follow one of the bands that got famous while riding a TikTok wave. It is like their music is getting very well-deserved attention, but it happens so suddenly. That is why when we look at the social media profiles of the members in the band, they are not very popular there. Their monthly listener base implies that they should be. I think this is great though because at the end of the day, it is about listening to the music. The track Tejano Blue has Gregory Steven Gonzalez as writer and producer, performed by the band Cigarettes After Sex. I would personally be very curious to see how the writing and production process of their tracks work. Sometimes, that can be too private to share for the artist though. I think no matter how this stuff is made, it is certain that Cigarettes After Sex has found their sound, or maybe Gregory Steven Gonzalez found it for them. I can only hope their machine keeps running for years to come and that you take this moment to try and listen to their new single, Tejano Blue.

Author: Peter Källman

Peter Källman is a writer from Sweden who loves playing in bands, writing reviews and going to live shows!