Diet Cig's first full length is a collection of bubbly indie pop tunes that tow the line between being cute and substantial in their social relevance. The duo's newest music video for "Maid of the Mist" is no exception. "I am bigger than the outside shell of my body / and if you touch it without asking then you'll be sorry," Alex Luciano belts in a verse, sharply adopting an outspoken feminist message that offers an assertive contrast to the tune's cutesie synth hook. The track, though pop-oriented enough for the tamest listener, captures a kind of punk energy that compliments its lyrics. Luciano's fuzzy guitars soar over Noah Bowman's bouncy, driving rhythms. Diet Cig seems to be able to take the most stereotypical young adult issues and imbue them with a deeper sense of social and political purpose. When you look at the outfit's young audience, you begin to understand the duo's true genius. In a way, they've domesticated feminist punk for a much younger, milder audience that might never otherwise be exposed. This, however, doesn't obliterate the genre's core message, but rather, deepens and widens it. - Andrew Strader

Since it inception, Rock'n'Roll has always been music feeding itself with paradoxes (hey, it was born from a mix of white country and black blues!), and throughout its history it has thrived on sonic contradictions such as the psychedelic pop experimentations, shoegazer's blend of noise and celestial melodies and the '90s loud/quiet/loud leanings. Brooklyn's Diet Cig's comment their new single 'Tummy Ache' (streaming below) in a way that perfectly fits with this narrative: "Tummy Ache' is all about unpacking the feeling of approaching punk with radical softness, and the struggle when it's not always read as powerful or cool or whatever enough. Its the shout into my pillow when what I'm saying isn't being heard, and a big old I FEEL YA to all the femme folks creating space for themselves in a world that wants to keep us quiet." The duo is taking the opportunity of this single to announce the release of their debut album 'Swear I'm Good At This,' scheduled for April 7 on Frenchkiss Records. They will promote it through several live shows at SXSW and a month long US tour starting at Baby's All Right on the dey of the release.

With their easy melodies, honest lyrics and unpretentious attitude, Brooklyn via New Paltz garage-pop duo Diet Cig has been winning many fun seeking hearts since the release of their debut EP, appropriately titled 'Over Easy.' The band recently announced a two week tour of the UK scheduled for the second half of May, immediately after the US tour they are currently embarked on. They'll be back in NYC on June 10 with a show at Baby's All Right.

Sometimes, in retrospect, some choices we make can be seen as premonitions... We booked garage pop duo Diet Cig for last week's Deli flagship CMJ show at Pianos, even though we couldn't cover them because they weren't based in NYC, but New Paltz. Well, as it turns out, we met them the night of the show, and they announced their recent move to Brooklyn! And here comes the coverage: welcome to NYC Diet Cig, here's another premonition for ya: it's gonna drive you crazy with excitment (and stress)! The New Paltz boy and girl specialize in lighthearted garage pop featuring Alex Luciano's adorably expressive vocals and casual lyrics, which tackle issues as varied as the dislike for smoking and the move into your first apartment. We are looking forward to hear what she has to say about her new life in the Big Apple! Their next show will be at Baby's All Right on December 4th. Oh and by the way! They have a great live show.

We added this song to The Deli's playlist of Best garage/punk/slacker rock songs by emerging NYC artists - check it out!