Cigarettes After Sex announce that they will be touring Australia in March 2025, performing shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as part of their upcoming world tour. The news comes as the band also reveal that their new LP, titled X’s, will be released 12 July 2024.
CIGARETTES AFTER SEX
X’S WORLD TOUR 2025
Wed 12 Mar – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Fri 14 Mar – ICC Theatre, Sydney
Mon 17 Mar – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Filled with raw, imagistic, sometimes smutty vignettes set to entrancing, slowburn pop songs, bandleader Greg Gonzalez captures every emotion a romantic arc inspires. But where previous albums have drawn from an amalgam of relationships, for the most part, X’s centralizes on just one relationship that spanned four years.
“The record feels brutal,” admits Gonzalez. “I could sit and talk about this loss to someone, but that wouldn’t scratch the surface. I have to really write about it, sing about it, have the music, and then I can start to analyze and learn from it. Or just relive it—in a good way. I don’t have that Eternal Sunshine-thing of wanting to forget.”
While continuing to observe classic pop song structures, Gonzalez has moved away from the prior sonic touchstones of the ‘50s and ‘60s, finding himself now drawn to a ‘70s/’80s slow dance. While (in typical Cigarettes style) these changes may be subtle, the overall resulting energy is akin to disco ball-refracted tears on the dance floor.
Today also marks the release of the record’s first single, ‘Tejano Blue’, a nod to the music of bandleader Greg Gonzalez’s Texas childhood, resulting in the most instantly memorable version (and liveliest tempo) yet of the band’s signature sensual, timeless, love songs.
With billions of streams and countless sold-out performances in their wake, Cigarettes After Sex’ X’s World Tour will take in some of the globe’s most iconic venues including New York’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena before heading down under for the band’s first Australian dates since a sold out run of shows in 2018.
2023 saw Cigarettes After Sex sell over 200,000 tickets globally, despite not being in an album cycle. They sit in Spotify’s top 240 most-streamed artists, and their music has been used 6.4 billion times (and counting) on TikTok, holding five spots in the top 1% of all viral audio creations. Yet, they remain shadowy figures, always maintaining the mystique that has created a space for fans to truly commune with their music, sharing it like an illicit secret.
Be a part of it when Cigarettes After Sex bring their cathartic live show to a city near you in March 2025. Tickets go on sale to the general public from 10am local time Friday 8 March.