Air Waves- Warrior
The halting, doomful image of a gas mask donned pedestrian on Air Waves' third full length LP, Warrior, evokes the hysteria and anxiety songwriter Nicole Schneit has confronted and defied throughout her career as a queer female artist. Warrior, her second on Western Vinyl, wedges itself into all of the political and social issues artists often cautiously skirt and pries up the overgrown roots of complacency and boldly brandishes Schneit's strength and chrome-plated charisma as a songwriter. The record's bespangled ballads enlist the familiar hypnotizing industrial noir to relay the painfully derelict, emotional songs about dignity, rights, and acceptance in a shimmering symphony of angular indie pop. These songs, created by Schneit to be heard by members of her queer community, will cascade within anyone aligned with her mission statement: "strong, powerful, and included."