More avant-pop than post-punk, their music was as eclectic as their members' musical talents would lead one to believe, ranging from squonky Beefheart rock to bouncy Devo-esque new wave, as evidenced by the brilliant "Pop Doormat," which opens with a deceptively anthemic synth line, then uses an ebullient bass and keyboard melody to underscore a disconsolate lyrical theme that wraps with the repeated question "What am I waiting for?"
Notable gigs included sharing the stage with DNA, Tiny Desk Unit, Babylon Dance Band, Men & Volts, The Fleshtones, and author William Burroughs,[2] plus an inspired performance at the 1982 World SubGenius Convention in Chicago.
[3] The Cigarettes' musical style is most frequently characterized by the repeated use of hard dissonances (minor 2nd's, major 7th's) in combination with angular rhythmic patterns.
"Puppies in a Sack" and "Piano Lesson/Smith Street" share a similar "additive process" technique in the gradual building of their dissonant and polytonal textures.
Live Radio Recordings from KOPN Columbia, MO: Poignant, Piano Lesson/Smith Street, Burnt Toast, Nervous and Wrong, Bad Bad Boy, Up Thru the Spiral, Spanish Modern/Insect Boxing, Feel this Pain, Pop Doormat, "D" in Anger 2002 - The Gulcher Recordings: 1980-1981 CD (Gulcher 410) Studio: Puppies in a Sack, Mr. Morse, Pop Doormat, Best Friend, Broken Windows, Simple Machines, Poignant (the final two being outtakes from the EP sessions).