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If you like your production slick and with a kitchen sink slung into the mix, then this New York duo may not be for you. But if you’re happy to embrace the ramshackle magic found in life’s minutiae, Diet Cig have charm to spare.

Confessional, witty, with a touch of The Vaselines, Swear I’m Good At This finds singer Alex Luciano magnifying small daily failures and turning them into works of art. Crap boyfriends, the judgement of social media, ill-fitting shoes, self-medicating with birthday ice-cream and the loneliness of big city living, all are ripe and ready for exploration. There’s a strength to her words that give her power over the mess she surveys; ’I am bigger than the outside shell of my body and if you touch it without asking then you’ll be sorry’ she warns over cheap kiddy keyboards in Maid Of The Mist. Celebrate your flaws and own your failures, Diet Cig are on your side.

Emma has been writing about music for 25 years, and is a regular contributor to Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Louder. During that time her words have also appeared in publications including Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Select, The Blues Magazine and many more. She is also a professional pedant and grammar nerd and has worked as a copy editor on everything from film titles through to high-end property magazines. In her spare time, when not at gigs, you’ll find her at her local stables hanging out with a bunch of extremely characterful horses.