Concert Review: Cigarettes After Sex

Concertgoer Sophia Kearns gives us the exclusive on the dreamy, spellbinding performance of Cigarettes After Sex during their first-ever visit to Sydney

After years of anticipation, American dream pop outfit Cigarettes After Sex finally graced Australian shores for the first time, delivering an ethereal performance at Sydney's ICC Theatre that left audiences spellbound. The band's long-awaited debut in Australia as part of their X's World Tour proved worth the wait, transforming the venue into an intimate sonic sanctuary.

From the moment fans filed into the theatre, the evening felt ceremonial. Without any apparent coordination, the audience had instinctively dressed in black and white, perfectly mirroring the band's signature monochromatic aesthetic that has defined their visual identity since their inception. The sea of grayscale clothing created an almost religious atmosphere, as if attendees were participating in some beautiful, melancholic ritual.

The crowd itself told the story of how Cigarettes After Sex has reached listeners across generations and platforms. While some devoted fans sang along to every whispered lyric with reverent precision, others could only join in during the viral moments – those snippets of songs that have found new life on TikTok, bringing the band's dreamy soundscapes to younger ears. This generational divide in fandom created an interesting dynamic, with complete silence during some verses broken by sudden collective singing when a familiar chorus arrived.

Greg Gonzalez, the band's enigmatic frontman, maintained the group's characteristic minimalism throughout the performance. There was no stage banter, no crowd interaction, no theatrical gestures – just pure, unfiltered music flowing like water from one song to the next. This approach, while perhaps stark to some, created an almost meditative experience that allowed the audience to sink completely into the band's ambient world.

In moments of connection, Gonzalez occasionally handed guitar picks to fans pressed against the front row, particularly the young women who had claimed prime spots early in the evening. These small gestures felt precious precisely because they were so rare and understated, fitting perfectly with the band's overall aesthetic of subtle beauty.

The setlist flowed seamlessly, with each song melting into the next without pause. This continuous stream of sound created an immersive listening experience that felt more like being wrapped in a warm, melancholic blanket than attending a traditional rock concert. The band's commitment to maintaining this unbroken atmosphere demonstrated their artistic vision,  creating a space for introspection and emotional release.

It's remarkable to consider that this empire of sophisticated sound began in the most humble of circumstances. Gonzalez's journey with Cigarettes After Sex originated from recordings made in a four-story stairwell at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he was a student. In that echoing concrete space, he captured the first iterations of what would become their debut EP "I." Having found his true calling in those reverb-soaked recordings, he never finished his degree.

The Sydney performance showcased how far the project has evolved from those early stairwell sessions while maintaining the intimate, reverb-heavy aesthetic that first defined their sound. Every whispered vocal and shimmering guitar tone felt carefully placed, creating layers of atmosphere that filled the theatre despite the band's deliberately restrained stage presence.

For Australian fans who had waited years to experience Cigarettes After Sex live, the concert delivered exactly what they hoped for: an authentic representation of the band's recorded work, presented with artistic integrity rather than showmanship. In a musical landscape often dominated by spectacle and social media moments, the band's commitment to pure sonic experience felt both refreshing and profound.

As the final notes faded and the audience slowly emerged from their collective reverie, it was clear that Cigarettes After Sex had successfully transported their intimate recordings to the live stage. Their first Australian performance wasn't just a concert – it was a masterclass in atmospheric music, proving that sometimes the most powerful performances come not from what artists add, but from what they choose to leave out.