Walking on air _{by Madelaine Empson}

Just eight months out of high school, rising pop-rockers Where’s Jai have released their debut album. Out on the 18^th of July, Fresh Out Of Air sees the five bandmates – lead vocalists Grace Allis and Leigh Edmeades, guitarist Michael Walmsley, bassist Jai Nielsen, and drummer Gene Todd – reflect on situationships, growing up, and past versions of themselves.

“The title track uses being ‘fresh out of air’ as a metaphor for being cut off from someone you depended on”, explains Edmeades, one of the two frontwomen. “The album has everything from beautiful violin buildups to grungy guitar solos. We wanted to make a dynamic body of work with enchanting buildups, highs and lows, and a different story to each song.”

Described in an article on Ones to Watch as “the sonic equivalent of losing your breath, your balance, your grip on what the hell is going on and making peace with the mess along the way”, Where’s Jai are thrilled the album is resonating with listeners.

“That disoriented feeling is exactly what we were trying to get across.”

Now all 18, the Tāmaki Makaurau band first exploded online in 2023 with their third single Perfect Crime, which has more than 1.7 million streams on Spotify alone, and have since made a name for themselves thanks to their magnetic stage presence and emotionally charged shows. They’ll play Wellington for the first time ever at San Fran – “such a cool venue” – on the 23^rd of August.