No Cigar – Under the Surface (13th Floor Album Review)
No Cigar have carved out a place as one of Aotearoa’s most distinctive alt-rock exports, threading together indie rock, coastal grooves, and emotional candour since their formation in 2019.
The five-piece, Willy Ferrier (lead vocals), Josh Morrice (guitar, backing vocals), Arthur Gillies (guitar, backing vocals), Sam Benson (bass), and Ned Gow (drums), have earned a dedicated following through steady touring and a run of increasingly confident releases. Their third full-length, Under the Surface, builds on the warm reception of Bienvenido (2022) and The Great Escape (2023), and is again produced by Connor Jaine of Mako Road, who shapes a bold, rhythm-forward and sonically expansive record.
Under the Surface retains the band’s groove-led core while adding layers of tension, atmosphere and shadow. The title track begins with brooding bass notes and “submarine-like guitar,” before a megaphone sample from a police raid cracks open the calm. The vocals enter with slow urgency, and as drums take hold, the song builds in steady layers. From the outset, the album leans into texture, with darker harmonies, drawn out phrasing, and heavier low end presence.
Chantilly offers contrast to the surrounding tracks, opening with a rush of shimmering guitar and tight rhythmic interplay. It feels cinematic, buoyed by drums and bass that move like a tide beneath Ferrier’s calm but expressive delivery. The lyrics shimmer too: “We’ve got a while to make it work / I guess we’ll see” evokes a hard won and sceptical optimism. That moment of light is short-lived. On Clean, soft guitar strums and echoing backing vocals undercut a faltering mantra: “I could get clean if I wanted.”
Maelstrom begins gently, with rolling drums and synth touches that give it a subtle momentum, gradually lifting before dropping away, leaving just the vocal to linger. Problem swings the pendulum back, bounding forward with bright guitar lines and a bouncing rhythm. The refrain “I’m a problem” lands like a shrug of pride, defusing the chaos with playfulness. On Merci Merci, the band stretches out with dynamic shifts between mellow percussion, buoyant bursts of drums and bubbling synth.
Ketamine pulses with urgency, driven by sharp, punchy drums and stuttered vocals, while Oh Behave flows through picked bass, bright guitar chords and a rhythmic shuffle that slows and sinks with each descending phrase. Across the record, Gow and Benson lock into grooves that give the guitars freedom to either glide or grind, with backing vocals used sparingly but to memorable effect. Throughout, Ferrier’s vocal delivery anchors the emotional core of the tracks.
Lyrically, Under the Surface reflects a band reckoning with romantic, emotional and chemical chaos, and trying to make peace with it. Themes of addiction, anxiety and aimlessness return throughout. And while Under the Surface remains groove laden and melodic, its tone is heavier and its emotional reach deeper. No Cigar have retained their easy charm and added a sharper, tighter and more impactful edge.
John Bradbury
Under The Surface is released today.
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