New York City rock band Nicotine Dolls dropped the single and music video “Gimme Sympathy” just ahead of their self-titled album, Nicotine Dolls. The record landed on Oct. 23 through BMG. It’s the third single from a 12-song set.
Cieri told fans what the song is about. “It’s about the people in your life who only know how to take, with no accountability or desire to return the favour. They are the leeches we let suck us dry, disguised as important relationships. Then, we wrap it all in chaos,” Cieri said, per Rock N Load Magazine.
“Gimme Sympathy” follows the lead single “Enemy” and “Here to California,” which Desmond Child co-wrote. The band cut the album in Nashville. Cieri played Child a demo called “Waiting for California,” and the two of them changed the title to “Here to California.”
Also, in some crazy news, Newsome played one guitar solo with bleeding fingers.
Cieri started Nicotine Dolls in 2018, per Broadway World. Before that, he played for tips in the New York City subway for almost three years just to get by. At one point he worked six jobs so he could pay for recording and tours.
The lineup shifted over the next few years. The debut album, An Attempt at Romantic, came out in 2025.
Then the band signed with BMG. Nicotine Dolls then went on tour for the first time with Newsome in the lineup. They tossed out their first try at a second album. It was a finished record, and they started over anyway.
“We were having so much fun playing with John, and it reminded me of the way rock & roll made me feel as a teenager,” Cieri said. “I realised that for a long time I’d been making the music I thought other people wanted to hear, instead of making music that I truly love.”
Cieri said the new record is the one he always wanted to make. “I’d always wanted to make a record like the one we ended up with, but never had the right band to pull it off,” he said, per Rock N Load Magazine. “Somehow, everything came together and it felt like magic. That’s why it’s self-titled. To me, it’s the first real Nicotine Dolls record.”
The finished album moved him, too. “When we finished the record, I cried. I’d never had that happen before,” Cieri added. “I believe in our band, and this is the closest I’ve ever come to making the record I always knew we could make.”
Fans can stream “Gimme Sympathy” on major music apps. The band plays The Baloise Session in Switzerland on Friday, Oct. 30. Tickets are on sale now.
