The self-proclaimed pop-punk band Diet Cig released their debut album, Swear I’m Good at This, on April 7. This album comes after the duo’s five-song EP, Over Easy. Swear I’m Good at This celebrates the small things in life while providing listeners with catchy tunes and relatable lyrics.
Alex Luciano and Noah Bowman are the artists that make up Diet Cig. The pair met when Bowman was performing with a different band, and after Luciano interrupted one of their shows to borrow a lighter, the two instantly became friends and bandmates. They started playing together in friends’ garages and at small venues in their hometown of New Paltz, New York, in 2014.
The songs on Swear I’m Good at This follow the traditional pop-punk algorithm of loud and fast-paced music, but the lyrics lack a certain level of substance that those familiar with punk are accustomed to. Filled with angst, this album is perfect for dancing around in your room or driving with the windows down, but that’s about it.
The first song on the album is “Sixteen,” which celebrates the awkwardness of trying to date someone with the same name as you and life after a messy breakup. The album as a whole addresses other seemingly simple parts of life, such as going to the grocery store, birthdays, new relationships and bubble baths.
Diet Cig’s lyrics may seem simple, but they amplify the small moments everyone experiences, making their music more relatable. As the listener sings along to Luciano’s catchy lyrics, they can put away the seriousness of their own thoughts and simply have fun.
Swear I’m Good at This follows the same upbeat structure of their EP released in February 2015. The five songs on the EP have the same level of lyrical simplicity and upbeat tune. The lyrics on both the album and EP serve as observations of occurrences in everyday life that lack explanation, or even have substance attached to them.
Diet Cig refutes the idea that music must be complex to be good. They assert that sometimes audiences need to hear music and lyrics that aren’t overly complicated — not everything needs to be serious all the time. And Diet Cig’s music can be used to escape into a pop-punk utopia.
The album does, however, have strong feminist themes strung throughout multiple songs. In the track “Link in Bio,” Luciano sings, “I’m done with being a chill girl/I’m trying to take over the world/Don’t tell me to calm down!” She also challenges the stereotype that women can’t be punk in the song “Tummy Ache,” singing, “Cause it’s hard to be punk while wearing a skirt and my stomach hurts.”
Swear I’m Good at This inspires its audience to feel as if they too can turn their feelings into music, no matter how simple those feelings are or the outcome may be.
Overall, I give the album a 7/10 for instantly boosting my mood while listening to it.
Contact CU Independent Arts Staff Writer Charlotte Spaeth at charlotte.spaeth@colorado.edu.
