Just coming off the tail end of their latest European tour and still riding the highs of travel and endless plane journeys, NO CIGAR drop their latest album Under The Surface . After building momentum with global audiences and garnering increasing attention through hit singles and high-energy shows, the Kiwi band were ready to release their third studio album. Fans who have witnessed their electric live performances will be eager for a fresh catalogue of bangers to experience on the next tour.
Elaborating on the beachy groove they’ve mastered over the course of their career, NO CIGAR bring in additional elements of funk, jazz, and most sweetly executed, rock. Channeling the spirit of rock from the 70s and 90s in tracks like “Russian Roulette” and “Merci Merci are choppy, challenging and edgy. NO CIGAR also balance the heaviness with tenderness in “Problem”, “Oh Behave” and “Maelstrom”.
Under The Surface opens with a signaling alarm underlaid with echoes of indiscernible mutterings through a megaphone, reminiscent of moments from Pink Floyd’s The Wall. After the eerie urgency of the titular first track, the album jumps into “Clean”, one of the more recent singles released. Instantly groovy, the track drops us onto a bobbing, weaving surface of playful, teasing chaos and bouncing bass. The chorus slides us into a smooth, golden lazy river, directed by Willy Ferrier’s vocals.
“Chantilly”, a single released in November of last year, helped build the anticipation for Under The Surface. It opens with expansive shimmering guitar and bouncing percussion, then simmers down into choppy, stoccato vocals. With guitar riffs that feel almost melancholy and nostalgic, the track’s uptempo brilliance marks it as one of the more radiant and striking songs. “I’m confused, but not disheartened”, Willy sings, hopeful yet resigned as the sparkling guitar takes over and, in its contemplation, sprouts wings and carries itself away.
“Russian Roulette” manifests the oppositional nature of this album as a whole; flirty, risky, committed, confessing, resigned, “When I’m high you’re low, When I’m fire you’re snow”. The singer reflects on the dualities of a love that never seems to be on the same page, but with a gentle, admiring tenderness. “She barely sleeps, do you girl… keep an eye on your mind, take each day at a time, true to nature, sleep will take you, let it creep up from behind”.
The album adjusts its tempo into an experimental, exotic interlude with “Merci Merci”. One of the catchiest songs on the album, its head-bobbing retro beach-wave vibe builds into a flirting, exciting electricity, where it coasts. Willy’s vocals have a great capacity for adaptability, flexing between mellow and syrupy, to bold and edgy on rock-heavy tracks. His voice shines most when it stretches towards the edges of his expansive range, snapping from one extreme to the other, shouting and chirping. We saw a lot more of this flexibility on Under The Surface, and hopefully will see even more on the next one.
Textured by tempos and rhythms that move like water, the album is buoyed by vocals that can be crooning and smooth one moment, then choppy and edgy the next, first dripping and gliding, then churning like white water. Matching the gritty edge scratched into the indie groove of their signature sound, the themes of the album also explore darker, more vulnerable ruminations. In discussing the catharsis and expression of writing, the band say, “Like many people, I struggle to speak candidly with anyone about what haunts me most… I choose my words carefully, so as to leave no venom on the tongue.” Under The Surface explores the exciting newness of flings and the tender, chaotic push and pull of relationships. It navigates fleeting experiences, wanting something to keep, trying to shake other things, while also reflecting on struggles with addiction and drugs.
An oceanic voyage in itself, Under The Surface skirts along waters of various temperaments, without neglecting a depth and vulnerability their previous albums had only scratched the surface of. Offering more in terms of emotional and sonic range, and satiating a thirst for more intense, alt-rock centred vibes that their vocals are so suited for, NO CIGAR’s latest album acts as a compelling entry point for new listeners as their sounds and audience expand and fuel for their effervescent and kinetic live performances.
