As humans we hope to experience a kind of love that reaches deep down, bringing out the buried secrets we hold dear to a safe level before we let them free. Once free, we are then released from our individual cells and connected with that which we call love.
Once our deepest thoughts are turned loose, we become closer to being truly free. Free to turn a sad memory into a lovely line let loose and turned to hope. This kind of love doesn’t lend itself to speak an easily recognizable language, yet you understand every word. This love is rare and yet exists in the vocabulary of Cigarette. Fitting, they will offer their love potion on Valentine’s Day, and you should be there, as it is rude to turn your back on love.
Cigarette is a six-piece band from Virginia made up of Jonathan and Richard Howard, Evan Napala, Johnny Ward, Benjamin Brown, and John Andrew Hagelin. Their full length album, Gush, is set to release this March, however their live show has already established Cigarette as something that is good for you.
Sean Peoples told us previously, “There are some bands that work really hard, or have something really special, like Cigarette for example. If you enjoy slow brooding pop music, but pop pitched down by 50%, it’s beautiful. It’s chambery, subtle, with a lot of different instrumentation. It’s one of the more special musical experiences you can have in this city.”
Cigarette has described themselves as a spiritual band, however they are better described as a spiritual movement for those ready to take the plunge. Cigarette creates a level of discrete music that speaks volumes, transcending what some consider minimal. Much like modern art, which on the surface seems simple, but upon closer inspection is laced with intricate details. It is these intricate details of Cigarette’s sound that separate them from just another modern experimental band.
Cigarette’s “Housewife” tells the story of a woman stuck in a life of drudgery, repeating the verse, “Pick Up and Go,” creating a fantasy world she can run to created by ghostly vocals and persuasive instrumentals pounding new life into an old escape route. It’s a beautiful image Cigarette manages to create oh so subtly, while capturing unknown desires and pumping them with a beautiful hope.
Cigarette is a heart rending love that should be experienced this Valentine’s Day, with Hand Grenade Job.
For those of you who would rather hate the day of love, Hand Grenade Job—sister duo, Erin and Beck Solanas—will inject their dark Americana for those who need a dose of reality, wishing everyone a very UN-happy Valentine’s Day.
Above the Bike Shop: 2503 Champlain Street, NW
8 PM | $5-10 suggested donation | Dress 2 Depress | All ages
Lovely handmade flyer by Beck Solanas of Hand Grenade Job.
