Cigarettes After Sex’s Greg Gonzalez Wants To Write You A Different Kind Of Love Song

Greg Gonzalez wants to write you a different kind of love song.

As if he were someone from a different time period, the 41-year-old Texan native has never shied away from tackling the more intimate and vulnerable aspects of romance — those moments that feel less like sweeping gestures and more like tender exchanges between two people in the quiet hours of the night. His lyrics, delivered with a voice that is soft, haunting, and undeniably sensual, explore love with a cinematic, almost voyeuristic quality. Yet still, there is nothing typical about his approach to songwriting. In a world saturated with fast-paced pop anthems and sweeping ballads, Gonzalez’s work with Cigarettes After Sex has become synonymous with a new, immersive style of love songs — ones that feel like whispered secrets in the dark, bathed in ambient soundscapes and warm, hazy nostalgia.

Together with his band, Gonzalez has carved out a distinct niche that has made waves far beyond the typical indie scene. Their blend of dream pop, shoegaze, and ambient pop has ushered in a fresh wave of genre-fluid love songs — an antidote of sorts to the standard, formulaic romantic pop that often dominates the charts. It’s a new era of sound, where love isn’t just a catchy hook but a sensuous, immersive experience. Yet by fusing these dreamlike atmospheres with deeply personal, evocative lyrics, the band has not only redefined what love songs can be but also helped propel shoegaze and dream pop into the mainstream.

And the ripple effects of their success have been felt globally — nowhere more so than in the Philippines. While Cigarettes After Sex’s ambient, intimate style might seem far removed from the classic Filipino ballads that dominate the country’s musical landscape, Gonzalez and his band have found a home here. Their melodies, with their understated (yet haunting) sensuality, have resonated deeply with Filipino listeners –– leading the latter to embrace the band’s unique take on romance as a new means of exploring the complexities of love. In doing so, the group has not only influenced how Filipinos listen to love songs –– but has also shaped the cultural conversation surrounding the themes of intimacy, connection, and vulnerability in a way that feels both modern and timeless.

Just a few minutes before the band took the stage at their massive sold-out show at the Mall of Asia Arena, Gonzalez sat down for an intimate chat with Billboard Philippines to discuss what it means to write a love song in today’s world, how their music has touched listeners in unexpected places, the release of the band’s latest album X’s, and the lasting impact of their dreamy, atmospheric sound on the global music scene.

Billboard Philippines: Hey Greg, it’s a pleasure to have you back here in the Philippines. But first, I just want to ask, how are you feeling? What is the rush of feelings you’re experiencing before tonight’s show?

Greg Gonzalez: Amazing. I think it’s beautiful, too. So we’re currently staying in this awesome place. It’s right by the beach, which I hadn’t seen before. I think we stayed in [a bunch] of places in Manila before. So it’s nice to have that atmosphere. It feels very much like the beach kind of imagery is exactly. But I like to go to it, the lyrics and everything.

Yeah, exactly.

It’s been really sweet. Yeah, it’s been really nice.

So tonight’s show celebrates the recent release of your album X’s because this is the X’s World Tour. So how do you feel having released that record out into the world, especially since it comes like five years past the release of Cry? 

Yeah, it’s pretty crazy. It came out last summer which is even like, I don’t know, it feels like really far away. But you know, that record, I feel like it’s just so personal. It’s almost like too personal where I’m kind of like… *laughs*.

We’re playing a song called “Dreams From Bunker Hill” tonight. And that song is probably the most personal song on the record. So it’s kind of emotional to get through because it just takes me back to those times. So we wrote the record and recorded it — and now it’s amazing to see people respond to it. Especially all over the world, so it’s been amazing.

Yeah, and speaking of all over the world, you guys have a massive fan base here in the Philippines. Imagine, like tonight’s show is a full, large-scale arena setup, and even on Spotify — you guys are at No. 188 worldwide as of today. 

It’s crazy. Now, it’s been growing and growing forever. Yeah, like it’s been there and we can’t believe where we’re at these days. I think tonight might be one of our biggest shows ever too.

I remember those days because ever since I came across your debut album in 2017, you guys have managed to go bigger and bigger — even getting better along the process. And you know, was that something that you expected when you first you know released the records?

It’s really like a lot of I’m not sure if I expected it, but it’s always something that I wanted to happen. Since I barely started playing music, when I was like 10 or something. All the bands and artists I looked up to were playing in huge arenas like this and going all over the world. So I thought like, how do I do that? And that I want to do that someday. Like that should be the goal.

So it’s been nice to see it just kind of rise and begin to really get to that level that I always wanted. Because you know, the music was always supposed to be love songs, which was on purpose. Because I would hear other bands and think, I like all their love songs, but the other stuff, I didn’t like as much. So I thought like, what if we’re just a band and we’re just all comprised of love songs and all types of romance songs? 

I feel like that’s part of the charm where it’s [the band] getting bigger and bigger, and it’s also because you know like we really need those songs. As you know, if you’re going through heartbreak, or if you’re in love, you can get the right music for it. I think what this band seems to do is give people the right music for those times. It’s so universal.

Yeah, and I think what’s so fascinating is that you know, your lyricism, it captures a different level of intimacy compared to a lot of love songs these days. And of course, like with the instrumental backing, you know, it’s also not common to other artists. But, you know, for some reason, it really resonates. And since you mentioned a while ago that you went to a lot of personal places on X’s, what aspects of yourself did you channel to convey that?

Yeah, like this like X’s is supposed to be like kind of more coming from like an R&B place like a little more produced now, and so it was like Sade’s “By Your Side” was a huge influence [on the record]. Because I think all the press releases we did talked about how I had this really heartbroken Valentine’s Day. And I listened to that song on repeat.

Oh yes, I remember reading that. *laughs*

Yeah, and it kind of grew more from pop influences, even Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys were sort of in this. Because I always loved those artists, but the soundtrack to that relationship that I’m talking about in this record, she loved those bands, and so we listened to a lot of that together. So it’s kind of like I wanted the record to feel like that relationship, especially the music that we shared, and we shared a lot of music but there was certain music that was really specific to that relationship. 

There was stuff like that that you wouldn’t expect for a band like Cigarettes [After Sex] and it was like there’s the HANA thing too. That’s just been like a style I wanted to incorporate forever, alongside Mexican music and Texas music. Hmm, it’s kind of all over the place, but I thought, let’s try to do something a little different this time.

What’s interesting is that although you mentioned it’s all over the place, for me, when I listen to it, it’s cohesive and seamless all throughout. Yet with all these influences that you mentioned, it’s great. Like it’s still very much your sound. A lot of audiences have tried to classify you guys as dream pop, ambient pop, or shoegaze, but [for me] honestly, with your music, it’s often more the emotions that it conveys. 

It’s such a sweet term, but I think the bands that are dream pop, that are up here, their lyrics are more cryptic and poetic and kind of like that. And for Cigarettes, it’s more based on storytelling. And really personal storytelling and stuff like that. Especially about real things that actually happened to me. So maybe that makes it what you’re saying.

It’s cinematic in that way. 

I think that’s what the goal is always like. I love playing songs, but you can listen to them with this whole scene is in your head. I thought like what if I could do a song like that where like a little movie plays? So I’m describing everything, you know. I’m trying to put the listener exactly in my place. So that’s probably what you’re talking about. It’s a really good term. Cinematic pop or something.

And honestly, with how you described it, it was also really effective. Like you know how some people feel like the main character of their own thing. Honestly, I feel like you guys could make a killer soundtrack if you wanted.

Yeah, I would love to do that someday. I thought about doing that so we’ll see what happens. I thought about doing soundtracks, but I thought I would maybe direct something instead. Oh, interesting. Maybe make a soundtrack myself or something too. Yeah.

And I see it. I really do envision that for you. So I would love to see you do that. Yeah, and because, as I mentioned a while ago, your songs, capture a level of intimacy because, you know, there are a lot of love songs that often capture love and a lot of its cheesy aspects. And while that’s universal, I think yours goes a bit deeper than that, since it goes beyond the more Cigarettes After Sex aspects. 

Yeah. I wanted to channel what I thought were the best love songs for me. They were these like really mellow career love songs that were slow, and I felt like that’s the music that lasts. It’s like, there’s all this great music that I love, but the music that really lasts is kind of like this kind of dark romantic music. Just think like “Moonlight Sonata,” Beethoven, or something.

So it’s coming from the same place as several songs that have been around for hundreds of years, it’s still around. So I wanted Cigarettes to be that way, where they would just last for decades and decades, maybe even centuries. Because it has this really slow, beautiful feeling to it. It’s supposed to be kind of ancient, which sounds like it comes from an ancient place, but also really modern because it’s so simple. It’s kind of like a love of philosophy that I was seeing in various songs like that.

Exactly. And I see it because there’s a sense of nostalgia that really comes across with your music. As you mentioned, you want people to feel it from your perspective and they’re really like see from your eyes. And I think the waves of nostalgia that come with that just add a deeper layer of emotion and connection to your music.  But since you were talking about how your music would last over the years, what legacy do you see Cigarettes After Sex having in the future?

Yeah, I thought it would be nice to be sort of associated as being one of the greats. Like just being known in that canon of great and beautiful singers that were known for their voice which is so beautiful and it feels kind of peaceful.  And it’s coming from Francoise Hardy, it’s coming from Julee Cruise, which we were just playing. And stuff like Chopin, Eric Satie, Chet Baker, Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Miles Davis, you know.

There’s a way to just be in this kind of canon of artists that I love like that’d be the best thing ever. It’s kind of what I always thought, like just put all the artists you love together on a list — especially the ones you love the deepest, that you want your music to sound like. And if there’s any way I could be on that list for somebody else in there that’s kind of the legacy that sounds beautiful to me, yeah.

And I love that. Because as it is, your voice, it’s honestly so distinct. I don’t think I’ve heard a lot of living singers who sound the way you do. And going back to your influences — Julee Cruise, Francoise Hardy — you know, these are artists, their voices are distinct. And I don’t think there have been people who’ve been able to replicate that.

Yeah. You’re right on with some of those. Chet Baker, especially. I think there are a few singers like him as well. You know, even Dolores O’Riordan and stuff like that. She’s been really important. She’s a beautiful singer. 

I agree, and what I love about it is that you’ve become like one of the voices of our generation in that sense –– because you’re carrying on all of those things that all these artists have done. And creating love songs that transport people to a different realm of different generations a different genre with every song that you do.

I think that’s it. And also because love songs, as you said earlier, can be cheesy and it could kind of turn you off. Like growing up, I think for a while too it’s like I liked love songs and then I started to reject them for a while and I’d say, “No, it’s like too cheesy.” 

But I realized, there’s a lot more to what we could do, whether it comes off as cheesy or not. Because it feels like, usually when I’m writing a song, I’m trying to get to the heart of something. I don’t want to make myself cry about something I didn’t realize was so emotional. Or like, cry about something that’s a statement on something I didn’t realize was heavy. But it seems like our listeners, too, hear that and they want to cry a lot with the song.

Yeah, they really do. And what’s so fascinating are the lyrics as well. They’re like reading someone’s journal, and for you, like you don’t sugarcoat it. You don’t sugarcoat things because you’re very real about it and I think that’s what captures the raw and the more vulnerable side of it.

[For me,] it’s a kind of storytelling. It’s like I wanted to be really clear with the storytelling and there are exceptions of course, especially something like “Heavenly” is a more appealing song. But overall it’s just kind of present in all the main songs that we’re doing, it’s really a kind of storytelling. 

I always say it’s kind of like writing a letter to somebody, [especially on] some of these songs. And that’s the way to write it, I think when you write something like a really direct letter, and then it becomes something that only two of you share together.

Yeah, and that’s the feeling that I think all of us get with your music. But in your opinion, how would you describe the perfect love song?

Usually the perfect love song is where it’s, like, completely, like, a song of thinking. Like, “I Love How You Love Me” by The Paris Sisters. It’s just like you’re so into them, and it’s a mutually shared obsession. But at the same time, you’re also in this perfect moment that’s really hard to recreate or even attain.

Here, like there’s no upper hand. Like no one is bigger than the other — as both are just completely equally in love with each other, and that is the song that does that for me. Where it’s like you’re just sharing this intense bliss with somebody, and it’s like that feeling of falling in love you know? That’s the best feeling from any song that feels like that, and I think those are my favorites. I feel like we actually fall in love with that moment, really.

The theme of love is often hard to get in the sense that it’s something that’s hard to conjure up, honestly. 

Yeah, for me, our song “Sweet” or something would be like that for us, where it’s just like a total obsession with somebody. I’m telling them exactly why I’m obsessed with them. And it feels like the love that we have is stronger than even saying it to each other.

It’s something that goes beyond that. And then the emotion of saying like, you know, no matter what happens, we’re still in love. Apparently, it’s like an unconditional thing, so I think it’s important to say that to somebody and to feel that for somebody.

Yeah, for sure. And I love how earnest that is. Another thing to note that’s amusing is that your music has come across several generations. Like I remember when you guys first started releasing your music, it was like the Tumblr generation. 

That’s true. *laughs*

And then now it’s the TikTok generation.

That’s wild!

So how does it feel being able to find new life on social media and to really bring your listeners from there into the world you’ve conjured up with your music?

That feels amazing because it’s something like I even said, [which was] Tumblr didn’t really occur to me back then. It’s just that I had friends that were girls that were on it back then and stuff like that. And I started noticing people liked us on Tumblr, but it wasn’t something that really had first-hand info. And even on TikTok, because when we got big on TikTok, I wasn’t really looking at TikTok.

But YouTube was a big thing for us too. That kind of launched everything. But to me, it’s like any medium, you know, if we were like in a different era, we’d have been on the radio, we’d have, on MTV or something. Whatever the era, whatever happens at the time, music people, it feels like our music, if it’s powerful, should do that through time in different ways. So just like, luckily those are all amazing platforms, but if all goes well, it’ll keep changing, and keep changing [probably] kind of forever.

With all these generations that you’re able to reach out to with your music, I believe it’s something that’s going to age well. Because as it is, your early stuff has already aged like fine wine. That’s what you guys are doing.

Greg: For us, that was always the idea. So hopefully it continues on. *laughs*

_{Photographed by Kim Angela Santos. Creative Direction by Nicole Almero. Story by Gabriel Saulog.}

_{Special Thanks to Secret Signals and Karpos Multimedia}

Listen to Cigarettes After Sex’s latest studio album X’s below: