Cigarette Camp

Reviews

Cigarette Camp Slowpoke EP

Two songs in, this EP had me thinking of one of the unsung heroes of early 2010s melodic hardcore/pop punk hybrids: UNFUN. Bands like them and CANADIAN RIFLE hit that sweet spot between those two labels, gruffing up one side and melodically infusing the other. If that sounds like a modern LEATHERFACE description, you’re not far off. CIGARETTE CAMP may feel less worn or mature, but they deliver on the things Frankie Stubbs always does: personal-feeling vocals/lyrics, guitars for days, and anthemic moments that hit like a bucket of water if you happen to be on fire. What I’m going the long way around to say is that this is so, so, so very satisfying. Punk with head and heart put into it is what we will always need, and it is delivered here in spades.

Cigarette Camp Steps LP

CIGARETTE CAMP easily falls in with OFF WITH THEIR HEADS, RVIVR, DILLINGER FOUR, early JAWBREAKER, and all-over-the-place gruff melody and hooks galore. This record has summer and friends dribbling and popping through every note. I think that it is important to understand that although they are covering well-worn ground, this record also comes off authentically and not as merely wanting to mirror or rehash any other bands. There are nineteen songs, which might seem long, but they average fifty seconds each and are perfectly sequenced to flow together, and before you know it, it’s over and you have to flip it and start all over again. I think Steps is going to make gobs of folks happy, and perhaps make it easier to get through the cold and wet spring.

Cigarette Camp Chalk EP

The sound (and possibly the smell) of a midsummer show in a punk house living room; pop sensibilities played through a second-rate amp. The lyrics have the reflective melancholy of JAWBREAKER, but with music closer to AD/DC or JACK PALANCE BAND. CIGARETTE CAMP produces the hooks and minimalist harmonies needed to make this genre work. Fans of this end of punk should take note.