Photo: Tim Cotton
Having spent the last two years touring consistently through Aotearoa and beyond with their unbeatable brand of dynamic indie-rock music, NO CIGAR now embrace the release of their much-anticipated new project – album number three, Under The Surface.
An album jampacked with songs that speak to the band’s elevated chemistry as songwriters and performers, Under The Surface plucks at fresh sonic influences while driving home NO CIGAR’s curiosity for pushing themselves into new creative directions.
Featuring popular tracks including ‘Clean’, ‘Chantilly’, and ‘Best Behaviour’, Under The Surface provides the listener with multiple moments to lose themselves in. For fans of NO CIGAR who have been lucky enough to see the five-piece perform across the last year and a half, the kinetic energy woven through their live performances will recognise that same energy within the DNA of this album. For newcomers, consider Under The Surface as the perfect jump off point in discovering more about one of Aotearoa’s most exciting exports.
“Music is our escapism, it’s where we squeeze the poison, sucked from the wounds of love, life and pain. As songwriters, and for me as a lyricist, getting to open up in a place that feels safe, with the boys, feels cathartic in a way nothing else can. Like many people, I struggle to speak candidly with anyone about what haunts me most. Letting it out can feel like pushing a mouthful of emotions through a pinhole; therefore, I choose my words carefully, so as to leave no venom on the tongue.” NO CIGAR
Created at Auckland’s renowned Roundhead Studios, Under The Surface shines in the way the music incorporates new flavours (‘Merci Merci’, ‘Cherry Blossom Girl’), while also letting the personality of the songwriting take prominence. NO CIGAR’s music to date has spoken to the band’s natural talents as artists – a savvy knack of knowing how to build a sonic space that the listener gravitates towards with ease.
Under The Surface takes the lessons and experiences from recent years, particularly since the release of their last album – 2023’s The Great Escape – and distills them here into twelve tracks of fun, thoughtful and engaging music.
“Just as we’ve grown as people in the last few years since our first album, so too has the music. We never set out to make music that is ‘heavier’ or ‘softer’; we just find the time to lock ourselves away from the world, get comfortable, and open the floodgates. The way the heavier tones in the album balance nicely with softer numbers make for our most dynamic album to date. NO CIGAR like you’ve never seen it before.” NO CIGAR
The release of Under The Surface comes off the back of sold out tours across the UK and Aotearoa, with NO CIGAR’s impressive back catalogue continuing to resonate with increasingly large audiences in global markets – Australasia, Europe, North America and the UK.
To celebrate the release of Under The Surface, NO CIGAR will be touring Australia and New Zealand this October and November.
“We’re coming home Aussie (it feels like it anyway – we know you’ll claim us as your own some day). It’s been a minute. We love you, and can’t wait to share our brand new album with you. Prove to us why Aussie crowds are the best in the world. We’ll bring the noise, you bring the energy. Vise versa.” NO CIGAR
NO CIGAR AUSTRALIA / NZ TOUR DATES
Thursday 23 October Mo’s Desert Clubhouse Gold Coast
Friday 24 October The Brightside Brisbane
Saturday 25 October Lansdowne Hotel Sydney SOLD OUT
Sunday 26 October Stag & Hunter Newcastle
Wednesday 29 October Lansdowne Sydney NEW SHOW
Thursday 30 October Amplifier Perth
Friday 31 October Torquay Hotel Torquay NEW SHOW
Saturday 1 November Night Cat Melbourne
“Each performance is a journey guaranteed to envelop you in romanticism, to the ever-evolving backdrop of a thumping sonic experience. With elements of alternative, folk, and indie rock, they also utilise groove-based rhythms with psychedelic undertones to keep your feet moving & your shoulders rolling.”
TWICE THE HYPE
“No Cigar has noticeably little banter, and are mostly here to play their music, which they do very well. The crowd was wild and some people climb onto their friends’ shoulders to see over the rowdy room full of music lovers. Anyone who’s not on someone else’s should is awkwardly pressed together as the venue was clearly at capacity, if not over”
13TH FLOOR
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