Live Review: Cigarettes After Sex - Roundhouse, London 20/11/2017

Cigarettes After Sex played to a sold out crowd at the gorgeous venue that is the Roundhouse. This is a band that knows how to do aesthetic; and the Roundhouse suits them perfectly. The stage is dark and dimly lit, which is ideal for the melancholy nature of the songs.

Having released their first studio album this year, Cigarettes After Sex kicked off their 2017/2018 world tour this month in Austria. Their London date was the 13th date of a huge 40 date tour, but if the band were in any sense exhausted, they were hiding it very well. However, high-energy isn’t exactly how you’d describe a band like Cigarettes After Sex...if you’re looking for something with vast amounts of dynamism, it’s best to look elsewhere.

Not that this placid quality is a bad thing. What they lack in energy, they make up for in ambience. The songs work like dark, twisted lullabies - pensive, yet oddly relaxing. Stand out tracks included ‘Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby’, and ‘Apocalypse’, which were both firm favourites with the crowd as a whole.

Although Cigarettes After Sex could be described as one of the more despondent bands, their songs aren’t straight up depressing by any means. They’re wistful, and it’s an important distinction to make. Throughout the entire set, the crowd remain almost entirely still; it’s clear that this band know how to captivate their audience.



Review and Photography by Hannah Ellison