Diet Cig’s Do You Wonder About Me? is the indie duos latest record since their debut, Swear I’m Good At This. Alex Luciano (vocalist/guitarist) met Noah Bowman (drummer) at a house show while Luciano was attending SUNY New Paltz. Luciano asked Bowman for a lighter while he was in the middle of his set, and the two hit it off from there.
You might’ve heard Luciano screaming, “Fuck your Ivy League sweater/You know I was better” on the angsty liberal arts anthem, “Harvard”. Thus far it has been their biggest song, released in accordance with their 2015 ep Over Easy. Diet Cig has a knack for creating up-beat collegiate bops— Do You Wonder About Me? features many of the same loveable and fun Diet Cig qualities that they are known for, however, after a couple of years on tour and spending 2019 writing Do You Wonder About Me?, Diet Cig has grown up without completely straying from the fun and upbeat indie tunes that they are known for performing.
On the single, “Thriving”, Luciano immediately opens by asking the title of the album, “Do you wonder about me” and her voice is noticeably more polished and less lo-fi than previous Diet Cig projects. Luciano’s voice never falters on “Thriving” it remains confident even when she sings “I hope my hair looks cute/When I run into you”. The juxtaposition between the strength of Luciano’s voice and her unconfident wordplay produces an intimate and relatable listen. We all want to come off as confident, even if we’re still unsure of ourselves.
“Who Are You” is another sonically fun and fast-paced track but lyrically it finds Luciano struggling to trust someone who continuously screws up and asks for forgiveness. Luciano sings the most memorable lyric on the album, “My moon is in Cancer/I wish I was a better slow dancer”. The cathartic song “Broken Body” is a new direction that the Diet Cig could be going. Luciano’s voice soars as she hums over the thrashing drums and guitar leading to a point midway through the track where a controlled explosion takes place. If you close your eyes you can imagine being in a hot sweaty small bar when Diet Cig plays “Broken Body” and everyone starts to nod their heads in unison to the song.
On Do You Wonder About Me? is a short listen but it is certainly a fun one. Alex Luciano’s voice is strong and polished, her lyrics are more cutting and honest than ever before. Do You Wonder About Me? still maintains the fun previous Diet Cig projects, but with more maturity. The band levels up on this album, and the songs on Do You Wonder About Me? provide a new yet familiar Diet Cig sounds that could be a blueprint for where the band will be going next.
