Del Water Gap and Holly Humberstone capture love’s weight, warmth, and wonder in their irresistible new indie pop anthem “Cigarettes & Wine,” a cinematic and soul-stirring ode to long distance relationships full of energy, urgency, and an aching euphoria.
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“Cigarettes & Wine” – Del Water Gap & Holly Humberstone
I want a photo of you in my bed to carry with me when I go out West…
This is the best kind of pillow talk.
Del Water Gap’s S. Holden Jaffe and Holly Humberstone are basking in a beautiful moment of raw intimacy and connection. A world full of responsibilities and obligations awaits them, but the world can wait: In “Cigarettes & Wine,” two souls combine into one for a dreamy, romantic rendezvous. “I think I’ll put you in another song – a little glimpse of you before you’re gone,” Jaffe sings. It’s a precious, fleeting moment of love and unity before their lives ultimately tear them apart once more – and while that time is fast approaching (it always is), for now they’re together; for now they’re one – and this is their heart-to-heart.
Jaffe and Humberstone capture love’s weight, warmth, and wonder in their irresistible new indie pop anthem “Cigarettes & Wine,” a cinematic and soul-stirring ode to long distance relationships full of energy, urgency, and an aching euphoria.
I want a photo of you in my bed
To carry with me when I go out West
I think I’ll put you in another song
A little glimpse of you before you’re gone
We could push it for another day
I don’t care what other people say
I’ll show you off in the Atlantic Coast
The kinda feeling that I want the most
They said we’re foolish
But I wouldn’t change how we do it
Released January 31, 2024 via Mom+Pop, “Cigarettes & Wine” is a breathtakingly bold and beautiful release from two of 2024’s most exciting artists. The stunning duet follows Del Water Gap’s sophomore album I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet (released last September) and Holly Humberstone’s debut album Paint My Bedroom Black (released last October), both of which featured on Atwood Magazine‘s Best Albums of 2023 list. It also arrives while Del Water Gap is in the midst of his UK headline tour, and as Humberstone gears up for her European headline tour (which kicks off in mid-February).
A transatlantic duo in their own right, Jaffe and Humberstone have, in recent years (and independent of one another), established themselves as two incredible bright spots on the world’s stage, their songs bridging the alternative and mainstream music landscapes. In many ways, it’s a wonder this collaboration didn’t happen sooner:
Both artists have their own distinctive songwriting styles, yet they share a common passion for rich storytelling, colorful melodies, cathartic choruses, and candid, unflinching, and achingly vulnerable lyrics. This is evident throughout their respective oeuvres, in recent Del Water Gap songs like “Coping on Unemployment,” “All We Ever Do Is Talk,” and “Doll House,” and in Holly Humberstone tracks like “Cocoon,” “Into Your Room,” “Paint My Bedroom Black,” and “Lauren.”
“Cigarettes & Wine” brings the best of both worlds together as Jaffe and Humberstone celebrate their union, lament their looming separation, and make the most of whatever time they have left together. The pair rise to a fever pitch in the song’s breathtaking chorus, channeling all that built-up tension and the pressures of long distance into a spectacular sonic and emotional climax:
Let’s keep living on cigarettes and wine
Shut the curtains to keep the world inside
No it don’t make a difference
Who cares what we’re missing?
Let’s keep living how we’re living
“‘Cigarettes & Wine’ is an ode to a transatlantic long distance relationship,” Del Water Gap’s S. Holden Jaffe tells Atwood Magazine.
“It’s about finally getting to catch a moment with the person you’ve been missing the most, and the threads that keep you connected when you’re once again forced to say goodbye.”
Who better to sing about the passion and pain of long distance love, than a touring artist? Del Water Gap played 72 concerts in 2023 and 69 concerts in 2022, according to concertarchives.org (in comparison, Humberstone played 46 concerts in 2023 and 95 concerts in 2022). Both Jaffe and Humberstone have experienced the lows of those gut-wrenching goodbyes, as well as the highs of those rapturous returns.
To accentuate this point and bring the message home even further, Humberstone sings about longing and heartache as she takes lead in the song’s second verse:
I’ve got a picture of you on my phone
I took it when you drove me home
You were a vision under rose gold light
How come you never even have to try?
So can we push it for another day?
There’s nothing here for me without you
It soaks me like the English rain
That kind of feeling I can never shake
“Working on ‘Cigarettes & Wine’ with one of my favourite artists has been so much fun,” Holly Humberstone shares. “I first met Holden about three years ago at the very start of my career when we played a show together at The Roxy in Los Angeles. It was my first time in the States and I’d been a huge fan of Holden’s music and so I was pretty star struck!”
“As the years have gone on I’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot more time in the States, but have definitely felt the pressures that long distance can put on relationships, and I think that’s something that a lot of touring artists can really relate to. It’s a song that is so meaningful to me and being able to create it with one of my favourite writers has really been a dream and I hope people love it as much as we do.”
Face it, we’re foolish
But I wouldn’t change how we do it
Face it, we’re foolish
But I wouldn’t change how we do it
Let’s keep living on cigarettes and wine
Shut the curtains to keep the world inside
No it don’t make a difference
Who cares what we’re missing?
Let’s keep living how we’re living
No it don’t make a difference, who cares what we’re missing? Let’s keep living how we’re living…
“Cigarettes & Wine” ends on a high as Jaffe and Humberstone resolve to “keep living how we’re living,” embracing their love and their lifestyle.
It’s working, for them – and if it works for now, why spoil a good thing? “Face it, we’re foolish, but I wouldn’t change how we do it,” the pair sing in unison throughout, acknowledging the fragility of their situation – something so many others would find tenuous and unmanageable.
And yet, for so many touring artists, this is the only option – and it’s one that rings especially true for Jaffe and Humberstone, both of whom are looking at busy years ahead, away from their respective homes, away from their friends and families as they bring their music to audiences all over the globe.
For folks like them, this is what real love looks like; this is how their love stories go – brief moments of intensity and euphoria, followed by dry spells of longing and long distance.
And while the pair certainly capture a bit of that pain, “Cigarettes & Wine” is more about the passion they feel when they’re reunited with their loved ones. It’s that dynamic eruption of intimacy and intensity, making the most of every second, every minute, every hour – because every literal breath counts when they’re so few and far between. Get lost in the euphoric love of “Cigarettes & Wine,” and join us in celebrating Del Water Gap and Holly Humberstone’s stunning collaboration!
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:: connect with Holly Humberstone here ::
“Cigarettes & Wine” – Del Water Gap & Holly Humberstone
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© Angela Riccardi & Charlotte Alex design © Chase Shewbridge
© Angela Riccardi & Charlotte Alex
design © Chase Shewbridge
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