Camille Schmidt’s Debut Album, Nude #9, Explores Raw Emotion

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, Camille Schmidt’s debut album Nude #9 is a bold, genre-blending triumph that unveils her rawest self—inviting you to confront your own vulnerabilities through a dazzling mix of synth-pop, folk, and punk.

Nude #9

Camille Schmidt’s debut album, Nude #9, is a revelation—a ten-track collection that lays bare the soul of the queer, Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter with unflinching honesty and a kaleidoscope of sound. Blending synth-pop shimmer, folk introspection, indie rock grit, and punk’s raw edge, Schmidt crafts a sonic tapestry that feels both intimate and expansive. These songs are portraits—of herself, her family, and the lovers who have shaped her past and linger in her imagined future.

With Nude #9, Schmidt steps fully into her power, delivering a work that is as whimsical as it is profound, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

Camille Schmidt

Schmidt’s journey to this moment has been one of quiet evolution. As a child, she sat at her parents’ kitchen table, observing the nude models who posed for their art studio. She’d wonder why the resulting paintings—raw, vulnerable depictions of the female form—were given detached titles like “Girl with Dogs #3” or “Woman Sleeping #7.” That curiosity about identity, vulnerability, and the stories behind faceless figures echoes through Nude #9. Here, Schmidt rejects the impersonal, rendering her subjects with vivid specificity and emotional depth.

Her musical path began to take shape with her debut EP, Good Person, released in June 2024. That six-song set hinted at her potential, balancing wry humor with devastating self-reflection. The breakout single “Your Game” was a queer kiss-off steeped in the alt-country swagger of Lucinda Williams and Alison Krauss, while “Bumblebee Drinks Lavender” wielded a soft, wistful power. Good Person cracked open the folk-rock songbook, but Nude #9 tears it apart and rebuilds it into something bolder, broader, and entirely her own.

The album’s creation began in December 2024, when Schmidt teamed up with LA-based producer Ben Zaidi. Writing at a feverish pace—often a song a week—she amassed over 45 tracks in just a few months. Unlike Good Person, recorded live with a band in a no-frills setup, Nude #9 demanded a new approach. Schmidt assembled a dream team of collaborators: bassist Eli Heath, sound sculptor Michael Haldeman (Mk.gee), guitarists Sam Acchione (Alex G) and Jacob Drab (Allegra Krieger), and percussionists Kane Ritchotte and W. Alexander. Together, they transformed her raw sketches into a vibrant, multi-dimensional soundscape.

The result is an album that feels more present, more alive, than anything Schmidt has done before. Tracks like “XOXO” showcase her vocal evolution, opening with a drum machine and featherlight synth before her voice emerges—digitally warped yet strikingly potent. The electronic layers serve as armor, shielding her as she bares her innermost thoughts: raising a child with a friend, confronting the “demon in my room.” “RIP the girl I was playing,” she declares, as the instrumentation twists into a half-human, half-machine roar, exorcising her past selves.

Standout Moments

Elsewhere, “Cult in Denver” highlights the elasticity of her voice—staccato flutters giving way to textured hums—set against a meditative kick drum and electric guitar flourishes. “How could anyone be like you are to me?” she asks, her words hovering between wonder and ache. Then there’s “Stanley,” where Schmidt wields her guitar like a weapon, igniting her lyrics with riffs that burst like fireworks. The song’s dreamlike absurdity—“I walked the plank I mean I went to the bank/ I had a hot matcha and a heart attack”—captures her knack for blending the mundane and the mad, a skill honed through years of fiction writing and a stint in comedy television.

Schmidt’s refusal to self-edit during the writing process lends Nude #9 a thrilling immediacy. Thoughts spill out unfiltered, from the riotous “Fish Pills” and its witch doctor peddling dubious cures, to the tender roll call of exes and friends woven into the lyrics like diary entries. This is an album of contrasts—sincere yet playful, cutting yet forgiving—that invites listeners to confront their own vulnerabilities.

With Nude #9, Camille Schmidt doesn’t just reveal herself; she holds up a mirror. Her gaze is warm but unyielding, urging us to look at our own shame and see it not as a burden, but as a story worth telling. In realizing her full potential, she’s created a debut that’s as indelible as it is intimate—a rapturous testament to the power of stripping oneself bare.

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