There are few things more exciting than a female-fronted punk duo. New York’s Diet Cig have been around since 2014, but are finally getting up to releasing their first album Swear I’m Good at This in April.
Alex Luciano and Noah Bowman are everything the New York City punk scene once was. “Barf Day” combines the tragic comedy of youth with rip-roaring college rock flare. “Barf Day” is the second single from Diet Cig’s upcoming album and continues the band’s unofficial mission of “approaching punk with radical softness.” It’s urgent and exciting, a power-pop anthem that will help you tap into your inner angsty teen. The band emerges from New Paltz, a quaint college town just outside New York City. The influence of this environment is so evident in the garage-band style Diet Cig excel at—this single is messy and funny and cathartic all at once. Luciano’s voice doesn’t have the same natural grit as someone like Ellie Rowsell from Wolf Alice, but that’s part of what makes this song so great. You hear a certain vulnerability and fierceness in the hook, as Luciano cries “I know that you’re sorry/ I just don’t care.”
Compared to “Tummy Ache,” the lead single from the forthcoming LP, “Barf Day” is a lighthearted approach to a typically hard sound. “Tummy Ache” feels like a more personal track, an ode to all the girls who are told they’re too feminine to be true punk fans (whatever that means). There’s still an upbeat energy to both these singles, but they diverge from one another in their intent. They may claim to be “two homies just making tunes and eggs on the regs,” but Diet Cig have the potential to spark a movement in their young audience. This is music that has a purpose, an unapologetic cry for colorful originality in a world dominated by monotone pop.
Swear I’m Good at This is out April 7 on Frenchkiss Records. Listen to “Barf Day” below and check Diet Cig on tour this spring!