No band embodies the connotations of its name quite like Cigarettes After Sex, a sonic swirl of dopamine and serotonin posing as a four-piece band. Formed by Texas-to-Brooklyn transplant Greg Gonzalez in 2012, the group has built a foundation of quiet, euphoric pop off debut EP I. alongside recent singles “Affection” and “K.” For today’s caustic social landscape, they’re the perfect calm in the storm, marked by Gonzalez’s soothing, high melodies wrapped around ethereal guitars and reverb-wet percussion. Live, Cigarettes After Sex transform that subtlety into a trance-like hold, punctuated by a back projector. Photographer Sarah Midkiff captured the band’s sold-out performance and some down-time at The Music Hall of Williamsburg last Wednesday.
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Cigarettes After Sex at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 6/25/2017.
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Cigarettes After Sex at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 6/25/2017.
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Cigarettes After Sex at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 6/25/2017.
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Cigarettes After Sex at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 6/25/2017.
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Cigarettes After Sex at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 6/25/2017.
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Cigarettes After Sex at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 6/25/2017.
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Cigarettes After Sex at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 6/25/2017.
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Cigarettes After Sex at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 6/25/2017.