The French quartet turn down the lights and get dark on their foreboding single 'Cigarette'.
NASTYJOE (all caps, no gaps) are putting out the singles in the lead up to the release of their debut album. We had ‘Fentanyl‘ just a couple of weeks ago and now the Bordeaux 4-piece have released their follow up in the form of ‘Cigarette‘- and the contrast between the two tracks indicates this is a band who are not going to be pigeonholed.
‘Fentanyl‘ was an altogether catchier, poppy-er affair, tight and driven by melodic riffs. Whilst not exactly bubblegum ‘light’ (as NASTYJOE still have an intensity even when dialling back on the gloom) it is still a bouncier number.
Now the band showcase their darker side with the down tempo, ominous sound that builds up a truly palpable sense that something is coming right up until the final release. Patience is rewarded as the pay off makes this a pretty epic track. It’s a bit more experimental and dramatically immersive.
For the band, this is much more of a creative discovery, a departure from the sacrosanct drum/bass/guitar niche.
What really catches your attention is the floating atmosphere created by the irresistible synthesizer, the spectral backing vocals, and the structure, which isn’t really a structure at all, but which grabs you right up until the final explosion.
The video (from Negative Visual) is positively Twin-Peaksian with a nod to the doppelganger concept. The band explains:
“As ‘Fentanyl’ could do, ‘Cigarette’ is about how simple it is to put both feet into what at first seems good. This time, we’re looking at the complexity of the anxieties that can arise from this situation.
The clip features a character who lives with his own anxieties, and ends up losing himself in reality. Our aim was for this character to be embodied by each and every one of us. We portrayed several personalities characterized by different states of mind, through certain traits that convey the contradiction, the personification of what NASTYJOE is as a band”.
‘Cigarette‘ is out now via the À Tant Rêver Du Roi label.
You can purchase/stream HERE.
Main picture credit: Étienne Renollet
Follow NASTYJOE on Their Socials
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Live review: The Headlines – Medley, Malmö, Sweden 24th Oct 2025
The relentless Headlines are back, with a new split EP in conjunction with Swedish punk legends Sator, and are celebrating with a sold-out gig in
They’ve done it again! ‘Gaslight’ – the illuminating new single from Healthy Junkies
Punk rock renegades Healthy Junkies unleashed their latest single ‘Gaslight’ on Halloween, a raw, melodic, and emotionally charged anthem about psychological manipulation and the fight
Gig Review: Hang Youth in Leiden, the Netherlands, 18th Oct 2025
On 18th October 2025, Hang Youth, maybe the best-known Dutch punk band, played in the Gebroeders de Nobel venue in Leiden. Support came from Dutch
Album review: HEED CASE shine a light on their Neurodivergent experiences through punk banger ‘Mongo’
HEED CASE shine a light on their Neurodivergent experiences through punk banger ‘Mongo’. An unashamedly unvarnished, fantastically frenetic, first-rate, follow-up to last yaer’s ‘All The
Album review: WitchDoktors conjure up riveting Rock’n’Roll magic with IZZATSO?
Yes, you CAN improve on perfection! Join the Doks and friends on a magnetizing mission into musical agility.. WitchDoktors’ sixth studio LP ‘IZZATSO?’ drops on
Live review: Liliths Army, Audio Works, Northampton, 25th Oct 2025
Lo-fi punk/grunge band Liliths Army released their single ‘Cursed’ on 24th October 2025 and celebrated with a single launch gig on 25th October 2025. The
I’m Molly Tie- I Love punk! I play drums (badly), write a lot about punk (not as badly) and I’m particularly interested in issues relating to women in the music scene.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
