22 July 2022 - 0 Comments

Beginning in Christchurch on Fri 30 Sept at 12 Bar, followed by U Bar in Dunedin, Yonder in Queenstown and Rhyme x Reason in Wanaka, the band will then head north to play Napier’s Paisley Lounge, Totara Street in Tauranga before wrapping up at Galatos in Auckland. They will also be appearing at Gisborne’s Longline Classic Festival, plus their First Light Food and Wine Festival.

Produced by Mako Road’s Connor Jaine and recorded in sunny, laid-back Mangawhai, this album is a product of the pandemic, an album that is finally able to breathe its life. Of the album’s conception, No Cigar say:

"When the bars, clubs and even the borders shut their doors, we had to look inward for an escape. In a strange way, if not for the pandemic, the first album we released would look very different. That’s because amid all the uncertainty, with gigs, festivals and tours all being organised only to be cancelled time and time again, we made a call. We decided to not book anything and instead focus inwards on the music….We all decided to ditch the ghost town Auckland had become and escape to Mangawhai, No Cigar’s spiritual home."

The recording process itself wasn’t exactly smooth sailing either with Covid rearing it’s head while they were camped out in Mangawhai

"Things started smoothly but when our artist Harris Keenan arrived to paint the album artwork, he brought a most uninvited guest. This uninvited guest quickly spread until most of us, including our producer Connor, were stricken with the latest variant."

The boys were determined this wouldn’t stop them, they knew that hey had something special and that this was their one shot at creating an album they could all be proud of

“It takes more than a global pandemic to smother the fires of creation, and we pressed on. What we ended up with is a snapshot of our creative process, or our ritual, as we took to calling it. We poured our souls into the music and bared all in the storytelling. We named it Bienvenido, meaning ‘welcome’, and we hope it will serve as a beckoning call, as an invitation to our ritual."

Lead single Some Nights became an instant fan favourite, was playlisted on ZM, Radio Hauraki and The Edge, and peaked at #16 on the New Zealand airplay chart. Second single Holiday talks about the onset of depression and being unable to fend it off.

Today, the band share another slice from the album Black Hole. Black Hole is the third single to be lifted from Bienvenido. True to their style of song writing, No Cigar are not afraid to shy away from large themes.

Listen to Black Hole here

"In the 21st Century, the word marriage doesn't have the same ring to it. Growing up it seemed to me that the majority of my friend's parents were divorced or estranged. Maybe we were an unlucky contingent, but that's how it felt. At the time, I didn't understand what it took to keep a relationship healthy. It seemed to me that the parents just gave up.

The song Black Hole talks about the issue of infidelity from a perspective of naivety. I'm big and ugly enough now to know that it's never that simple, that there's a million things that could see people fall out of love, just as easily as they fell in". – Willy Ferrier, No Cigar

Since the band’s inception in 2019 , the boys have grown a fiercely loyal fanbase while dodging lockdowns, playing sold out shows at Auckland’s Galatos, Tuning Fork, Whammy and Sweat Shop, opening for Mako Road at the iconic Powerstation and playing across the festival circuit including Rhythm and Vines, Outfield Festival and That Weekend. They have already surpassed over 2 million streams on Spotify alone with 50,000 monthly listeners.

Tickets for all shows are on sale now from outlets listed below.

Fri 30 Sept

12 Bar | Ōtautahi, Christchurch

undertheradar.co.nz

Thu 6 Oct

U bar | Ōtepoti, Dunedin

undertheradar.co.nz

Fri 7 Oct

Rhyme x Reason | Wānaka

undertheradar.co.nz

Sat 8 Oct

Yonder | Tāhuna, Queenstown

undertheradar.co.nz

Fri 21 Oct

Paisley Lounge | Ahuriri, Napier

undertheradar.co.nz

Sat 22 Oct

Longline Classic Festival | Tairāwhiti, Gisborne

ticketfairy.com

Sun 23 Oct

First Light Food & Wine Fest | Tairāwhiti, Gisborne

eventfinda.co.nz

Sat 29 Oct

Totara St | Mount Maunganui

flicket.co.nz

Sat 5 Nov

Galatos | Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland

undertheradar.co.nz

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