by Torrey Proto
The push and pull of life that LA-based artist Nikolas Soelter experienced throughout his twenties was an undeniable influence on his debut album Waiting for Oblivion as Nylon Smile. The densely layered album features a host of key collaborations from artists that Soelter has worked with over the years, featuring production from Melina Duterte (Jay Som) and various instrumental and vocal contributions from like-minded artists like Taylor Vick (Boy Scouts), Chris Adams (Pendant), and Pascal Stevenson (Moaning, Fashion Club).
Soelter drives the urgency home with the anxious and driven melodies of the album's third single "Painless." The sheer physicality of Melina Duterte's mix lends ample weight to Soelter's percussive chanting on the track's stirring chorus. Searching for both financial security and possibly mental stability in the same breath, the repeated chants of "the cure to believing / your life has some meaning / the bleeding for money / is burning the mind down / is mourning the body" recall the all-too-familiar uncertainty of life as a twenty-something today. Soelter's gentle and airy vocal narration amidst the hefty arrangements provides a steady guide throughout the murky twists and turns of his fully realized pop vision that emerged from a decade plus of lessons learned from contributing to outside projects.
Nylon Smile’s Waiting For Oblivion is out November 5th via Citrus City Records.