“I wrote this ironically—taking a dig at the games of love,” Scout Gillett notes of her new single “slow dancin’,” a fast-paced, upbeat recording getting straight to the heart of the matter. “People too often play games. My take is: let’s just cut to the chase.”
It’s the second single from the Kansas City–born and Brooklyn-based musician’s debut solo album no roof no floor, set for release this fall via Captured Tracks. Like it’s preceding single “signal,” the track would feel at home performed somewhere within the recently wrapped-up Wild Hearts Tour with its blend of noirish rock and echoes of alt-country (coincidentally, it was Sharon Van Etten who’s credited with convincing Gillett to make the move to New York). Unlike that previous track, though, “slow dancin’” sees Gillett’s vocals hitting inspired peaks.
“The second vocal take of this track was captured in the pitch-black darkness of a barn as I looked out to the stars,” she recalls of the recording experience in Upstate New York. “When I walked back into the studio, Nick and Ellen Kempner (of Palehound) both said they had never heard anyone sing like that before. That moment meant so much to me. We really made something special and I gave it my absolute best.”
The video the single arrives with features a fairly straightforward premise—Gillett dancing in the public streets of NYC and in the privacy of her apartment—with a specific reference point: Dennis Hopper’s 1983 film Out of the Blue. “Cebe, a young girl, finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene,” Gillett says, summarizing the film. “I related to this a lot. This music video was so fun to make. I felt the most like myself, always moving, dancing around in the street and in my room. It really showcases my personality.”
Watch the clip below.
