Album Review: Diet Cig Finds The Bridge Between Punk And Pop In “Swear, I’m Good At This!”
Alex Luciano might be the Janis Ian of modern punk-pop. Her capacity to capture the loneliness, insecurity, and overall angst of punk music/ humanity is uncanny and comparable to this legend. The lead frontwoman to Diet Cig shines in the new album Swear, I’m Good At This!, of which is a necessary buy for those eager to hear human rage be released over a raving guitar and pulsing drum from Noah Bowman.
It is hard to pick my favorite song or the one that leaps out in Swear, I’m Good At This! because the album is sweet paradox. On one hand, you have tracks “Road Trip” and “Sixteen” that play into listeners’ fantasies to either escape their own “skin” or surroundings. We all have has instances when we did not want to be in our “shoes”, either because life was not going as we desired or we felt, as human beings, that we were not the persons we desired to be. Thus, my admiration for this album comes from how well Diet Cig contain and play this somber reality that human beings, often, do not speak of beyond music. No one wants to go around saying “I hate myself, could I be someone else for a day?”. “Link In Bio”, “Leo”, and “Blob Zombie” are all about the gnawing anxiousness to both combat every label handed to you by both the ones that love and hate you, while also being the one to conquer and be the best in the room. Humanity’s torn relationship between combatting and conquering others is what Diet Cig play to with punk-pulsing guitars and drums that would make The Clash proud, and provide second half of their sweet paradox. As mentioned, it is the “too sweet to be real” voice of Luciano that soars in making the struggle to be yourself feel universal rather strictly individual.
Luciano’s vocals were manufactured by Willy Wonka; that is just a fact. And like the golden ticket, her voice plays into the “cholatey rhythms” of dark, sugared tracks like “Tummy Ache” and “Maid Of The Mist”. These songs, along with the whole album, have a combustive sound as they start with a simple chord to then burst into one that is explosively delicious. Meshing pop and punk is not easy, as by their foundation, they seem to contrast each other in aim and sound. Yet, Diet Cig have found a happy bridge between them, which explains why so many people are calling them the best punk-pop band of our time. They have blended both genres lyrical/emotional penchant to discuss how life and relationships feel when you perceive yourself as an outsider. Still Luciano’s voice is what keeps the pop, anthemic feel alive as she coats Noah Bowman’s blazing drumrolls with vocal confetti. Thus, just when you think you cannot handle the spiritual truths you will find in Swear, I’m Good At This, Luciano’s voice and Bowman’s heart-beat of a drum ease your pain to reveal that it is at being yourself you can/ should swear to be good at. For More Information On Diet Cig And To Buy Swear, I’m Good At This on April 7 Click Here.
