Italian indie duo Alaska Blue — singer/songwriter Elisabeta Giordano and musician Davide Cast — released their full-length debut, 2022’s eight-song Under the weather, an effort that saw the duo quickly establishing a neo-soul-like take on pop, anchored around Giordano’s soulful vocal.

The Italian duo’s latest single “Cigarette” is a subtly bossa nova-like take on neo-soul that evokes late night/early morning solitary walks in an industrial city that has seen much better days, reminiscing over what one was and may never come back — or dreaming of escaping for something different or something seemingly better.

The duo explain that the song explores themes of destiny, the weight of nostalgia and the struggle of working-class folks and life on the city’s edge. “The lyrics paint a personal vision of concrete-paneled buildings in the outskirts of a port city,” they say. “This new song will resonate with anyone, who’s ever felt the weight of unspoken words and the quiet beauty of a lonely night.”