Released in 2019 by Partisan Records, Cry is the second studio album by Cigarettes After Sex, the dream-pop project led by Greg Gonzalez. Recorded in a house overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Mallorca, the album captures the band’s signature blend of hazy romanticism, sensual minimalism, and emotional vulnerability all wrapped in a shimmering, nocturnal atmosphere.
From the opening track Don’t Let Me Go, it’s immediately clear that Cry continues the aesthetic Cigarettes After Sex established on their debut, but with a deeper sense of intimacy and melancholy. The album’s sound is lush yet restrained, built from reverb-drenched guitars, soft bass pulses, and Gonzalez’s breathy, androgynous vocals that hover like whispers in the dark. Each song feels suspended in time, a moment of longing preserved in slow motion.
Highlights include Heavenly, a glowing centerpiece that captures the euphoria and ache of fleeting love; Falling in Love, which blends tender lyricism with a sense of inevitability; and Touch, perhaps the band’s most cinematic track, where quiet desire swells into something transcendent. The title track, Cry, is a minimalist confessional, shimmering with heartbreak and quiet acceptance. Across all nine songs, Gonzalez demonstrates his mastery of mood and tone, crafting a world that is simultaneously intimate, cinematic, and achingly beautiful.
On vinyl, Cry is especially immersive. The analog warmth enhances the album’s nocturnal textures, deepening the bass and softening the highs, giving the music the tactile quality of a fading memory. It’s the perfect format for a record that feels like a secret best experienced alone, late at night, when the world is quiet and the emotions linger.
More than just a continuation of their debut, Cry is a refinement and deepening of Cigarettes After Sex’s sound. It explores the same themes love, desire, vulnerability but with greater nuance and a sense of lived experience. For longtime fans, it’s a reaffirmation of what makes the band unique: their ability to transform quiet moments into something cinematic and universal. For new listeners, it’s an ideal introduction to their dreamlike world.
Nearly half a decade after its release, Cry remains a testament to subtlety and emotional honesty a record that whispers instead of shouts, yet lingers long after the final note fades.
