Nicole Schneit, aka Air Waves, aka creator of two of the greatest albums of recent years, 2018’s stunning ‘Warrior’ and their newest masterpiece ‘The Dance’ – set for release on 9th September on Fire Records.
Out today, the new single ‘Alien’ is an ethereal pop excursion with dark undertones featuring Cass McCombs on vocals alongside Nicole (vocals, guitar), Luke Temple (synths), Brian Betancourt (bass) and David Christian (drums).
“Alien is a love song, about feeling safe with someone. The kids I work with say “go off king” so thought to use that sentiment. I was ecstatic Cass wanted to sing on this one, as I’m a big fan of his songwriting and his voice works so well with the darkness of the tune.” Adds Nicole
‘The Dance’ has waited three years to see the light of day and it comes to us now, blinking, smiling in the widening light of 2022 feeling more needed and necessary but also more joyous than ever before. It’s both a snapshot of these songs as they were recorded but crucially, in the intervening time those songs have had additional arrangements crafted by Nicole, created remotely and virtually, with a few like-minded collaborators. The result is simultaneously Air Waves freshest, most spontaneous yet finessed album yet, heady with hooks and unforgettable melodies, gliding on deeply danceable grooves and beats always with Schneit’s innate compassion, concision and uncanny pop sense shining throughout the nine luminescent tracks. For Schneit, that broken sense of time is crucial to how ‘The Dance’ miraculously came together.
Recorded at Figure 8 studios in Brooklyn, NY, ‘The Dance’ features Skyler Skjelset (Fleet Foxes, Beach House), Luke Temple (backing vox, additional arrangements), Brian Betancourt (Hospitality, Sam Evian), Cass McCombs (backing vox), Rina Mushonga (backing vox), Frankie Cosmos (backing vox), Lispector (backing vox), David Christian (drums), Ethan Sass (guitar, synth), and Ben Florencio (drums).
‘The Dance’ is anything but an over-confected studio-sprawl – like all Air Waves music it’s at root beautifully simple, instantly accessible and entirely addictive. Nicole released their first independent album in 2009 under the Air Waves moniker, a name inspired by a Guided By Voices song – subsequent albums like 2010’s ‘Dungeon Dots’ (which featured a guest vocal from fellow Brooklynite Sharon Van Etten), 2015’s ‘Parting Glances’ and 2017’s stunning ‘Warrior’ crystallised Schneit’s vision of loose-but-focused, convivial but startling pop.
‘The Dance’ continues that trajectory but finds Schneit opening up their music to a more fluid sense of space and movement, while keeping their lyrical eye between the personal and the political, from the specific to the universal with a haiku-like directness and suggestion.
“I’ve loved using backing tracks lately, having just a mic and singing and thinking about my body and not hiding behind my guitar. Dancing around!” It’s built a different kind of confidence level.
You won’t find a better soundtrack for the solidarity, strength, romance and movement we all need right now than ‘The Dance’ – Air Waves’ best album yet and recommendations come no higher. Shall we?
