“Apocalypse” by Cigarettes After Sex

The lyrics of “Apocalypse” are very abstract and read a lot like a love song. But according to the writer/vocalist Greg Gonzalez, such is not the case per se. Rather, this piece is based on two other concepts.

Concept 1

The first, which is in fact romance relatedly, is the idea that falling in love is inherently painful. In other words, at some point during a relationship there will inevitably be some type of heartbreak. 

And that philosophy does sort of come through in the chorus where the addressee, who we can presume is a romantic interest of the vocalist’s, is being presented as someone who cannot overcome her less-than-ideal past, or something like that. 

Moreover there are other metaphors, such as those found in the bridge (and including the usage of the titular term), that theoretically point to such an idea.

Concept 2

Then, the second premise upon which “Apocalypse” is based is sort of this rural-to-urban drift ideology. Or explained more accurately, some of Greg’s exes were girls who desired to travel but concurrently were confined to a hardcore city dwelling. Or put differently yet again, they felt trapped in their environment and relatedly did not have a full zest for life. So according to Gonzalez, he’s basically using the occasion to give those ladies a shoutout.

What “Apocalypse” is all about

Indeed that’s the interesting thing about these lyrics. There’s definitely a feeling of sadness permeating throughout. Yet at the same time, it’s challenging to pin down exactly where they are permeating from. 

And perhaps, all things considered, that was the intended purpose, to illustrate how being in love can sometimes be both enjoyable and dreadful at the same time. And likewise you may meet a beautiful person, someone who has “the music in” them, but concurrently that doesn’t mean that said individual isn’t also somehow suppressed.

“Got the music in you, baby
Tell me why
Got the music in you, baby
Tell me why
You’ve been locked in here forever
And you just can’t say goodbye”

Cigarettes After Sex and “Apocalypse”

Cigarettes After Sex, in this case, is actually the name of a band that traces its origins back to late-aughts El Paso. The group is fronted by vocalist Greg Gonzalez.

And at the time this song was dropped by Partisan Records on 20 March 2017, he was buttressed by three other musicians. They are:

• keyboardist Phillip Tubbs
• drummer Jacob Tomsky
• bassist Randall Miller

The latter two musicians are still a part of the group as of the writing of this post, as is more-recent keyboardist Josh Marcus.

“Apocalypse” is from the band’s maiden studio album, which is a self-titled effort. And whereas the album didn’t make it onto Billboard 200, it did break the top 30 of the UK Albums Chart.

“Apocalypse” was the second single from the aforementioned album. And it also stands as the band’s most-popular tune to date. It is their only song to have thus far achieved RIAA gold certification.

The aforementioned Gonzalez, who founded Cigarettes After Sex in 2008, wrote and produced “Apocalypse”.