New York duo Diet Cig’s debut LP Swear I’m Good At This is more than a compilation of fresh-feeling indie pop-rock tunes, it’s also moonlights as meaningful manifesto of the complexities of a woman’s mind.
Guitarist and front-lady Alex Luciano’s bellows on closing track “Tummy Ache”: “I don’t need a man / To hold my hand / And that’s just something / You’ll never understand” and “My stomach hurts / ‘Cause it’s hard to be punk while wearing a skirt” sound all too indicative of the unnecessarily imposed struggles that society deals women daily, even by today’s liberal beliefs.
Drummer Noah Bowman’s skills are masterful at channeling the energy behind each tune. The Luciano/Bowman duo come across as fun and easy-going, yet their message is one to be taken seriously. Swear I’m Good At This carries several fine tracks, like the surreal “Sixteen” and the finger-snapping “Link in Bio,” but the crown-jewel is the happy-go-lucky and gender-role-reversing “Maid of the Mist.”
Luciano initially comes across as empowered and angry when crooning “And I am bigger than the outside shell of my body / And if you touch it without asking then you’ll be sorry,” yet endearing on the track’s latter half.
The 12-track Swear I’m Good At This is a fine and insightful journey through the mind of 20 somethings shedding their “yes-sir” teenage teachings and paving their own image of adulthood. Diet Cig is worth investing your time in. Have a listen. They’re a bit pop, they’re a bit rock, but we swear they’re good at this music thing.
For more on Diet Cig, head out to their website or download their new LP on Spotify, iTunes or wherever available.
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