Three years after their debut record, Swear I’m Good at This, Diet Cig returned back in January with the single “Night Terrors”. Now, the duo has outlined the album from which the track appears on, their sophomore full-length Do You Wonder About Me?, due out May 1st via Frenchkiss Records. They’ve also shared the new single, “Thriving”, and fleshed out their previously announced tour schedule with a fall run of shows.
Written after Diet Cig’s Alex Luciano and Noah Bowman relocated to Richmond, Virginia, Do You Wonder About Me? is the result of a more measured approach to recording. Instead of testing out material on stage, they fleshed it out in their own practice space. They eventually took the tracks into Philadelphia’s Headroom Studios and New Paltz, New York’s Salvation Recording with producer Chris Daly. Together, they created a “gleaming new direction,” as a press release describes it.
There’s certainly more shine on “Thriving” than their previous LP. It’s a ringing, slightly campy ode to the dichotomy of seeking self-sufficiency and strength while simultaneously wanting someone else to acknowledge that you’re, well, thriving. Diet Cig note the track was “inspired by the melodrama of reality TV and musical theater,” adding that they “wanted the song to bounce back and forth between a lavish personal anthem and the anguish of feeling forever beholden to others opinions.”
Take a listen below. Do You Wonder About Me? (which gets its title from the lyrics in “Thriving”) is available for pre-order now.
In addition, Diet Cig has announced fresh tour dates set for October. The fall trek launches in Pittsburgh on the 3rd and takes the band to Cleveland, St. Louis, Denver, Salt Lake City, Boise, Seattle, and San Francisco before closing October 22nd in Los Angeles. Find their full schedule, which includes a date at Calgary’s Sled Island, ahead. Tickets to all their upcoming shows can be purchased here.
Diet Cig 2020 Tour Dates:
04/30 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East
05/02 — Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade
05/04 — Brighton, UK @ The Hope and Ruin
05/05 — Manchester, UK @ YES
05/06 — London, UK @ Camden Assembly
05/14 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer # ^
05/15 — Washington, DC @ Black Cat # ^
05/16 — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg # ^
05/18 — Providence, RI @ The Met # ^
05/20 — Boston, MA @ The Sinclair # ^
05/21 — Montreal, QC @ Le Ritz # ^
05/22 — Ottawa, ON @ 27 Club # ^
05/23 — Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground # ^
05/24 — London, ON @ Rum Runners # ^
05/26 — Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx # ^
05/27 — Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall # ^
05/28 — Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line # ^
05/29 — Iowa City, IA @ The Mill # ^
05/30 — Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar # ^
06/02 — Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar # ^
06/03 — Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle # ^
06/04 — Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade – Hell # ^
06/05 — Durham, NC @ Motorco #
06/06 — Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern #
06/24-28 – Calgary, AB @ Sled Island Festival
10/03 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Andy Warhol Museum
10/04 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s
10/06 – Cincinnati, OH @ Woodward
10/07 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill
10/08 – Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
10/10 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
10/13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
10/14 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
10/16 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
10/17 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
10/18 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
10/21 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
10/22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
# = w/ Sad13
^ = w/ Thin Lips
Diet Cig Announce New Album Do You Wonder About Me?, Extend Tour
Ben Kaye
