By 2024 at the latest, with the release of their third album "X's", Cigarettes After Sex will be the center of attention not only as one of the outstanding indie bands of the present day, but as one of the world's most successful bands of any genre, whose often unconventional path to superstardom has helped redefine the definition of success for artists in today's world. In raw, imaginative, sometimes dirty vignettes backed by gorgeous, slow-moving pop songs, bandleader Greg Gonzalez captures all the emotions that a romantic relationship evokes. But while previous albums drew from a smorgasbord of relationships, the third album "X's" focuses on a single relationship that spanned four years. "The record feels brutal," Gonzalez admits. "I could sit down and talk to someone about that loss, but that wouldn't even scratch the surface. I really need to write about it, sing about it, have the music to go with it, only then can I start to analyze it and learn from it. Or I can just relive it - in a good way.' Gonzalez still sticks to the classic structures of the pop song, but has moved away from the sonic cornerstones of the 50s and 60s and is now drawn to the slow dance of the 70s/80s. While these changes may be subtle (in typical Cigarettes fashion), the result is a different energy, more akin to tears breaking in a disco ball, to use a strong image.