I was minding my own business when “I Stopped Writing Love Songs” by Air Quotes slipped into my headphones and immediately interrupted my schedule with that “wait… this hits a bit close to home” feeling.
“I Stopped Writing Love Songs” lands with that cool, quietly electric energy I haven’t felt in weeks. Ever since I got married, my day-to-day shifted in ways I expected… and a few I didn’t. The biggest? I genuinely stopped writing about heartbreak. I used to treat songwriting like a bandage; now I don’t need the bandage, and I didn’t realise how odd that would feel until this track hit me straight in that gap. There’s something cheeky yet sincere in the way it frames that emotional shift — not heavy-handed, just honest in a way that sneaks up on you.
The whole thing moves like a head full of half-finished thoughts that somehow still find harmony and coherence. There’s a bit of pleasing chaos, but everything fits with the confidence of people who score films for a living — because, well, they do. Air Quotes keep the production airy and bright, almost summer-lit, while weaving in orchestral touches that feel more like instinct than decoration. It’s pop, sure, but pop with a backbone shaped by composers who understand tension, release, and the tiny details that make a melody linger.
And that’s why it sticks. The vocal performance by Nina Estrada carries just enough warmth to soften the sharper edges, while the writing team — Mattan Cohen, Michelle Cohen, and Preston Walker — load the track with emotional clarity without tipping into melodrama. I caught myself humming the hook while making lunch, which usually means the song isn’t just good — it’s a new friend I just met.
About Air Quotes:
Air Quotes is essentially what happens when two film composers decide to build a pop project that still thinks in cinematic terms. Mattan and Michelle Cohen record wherever makes sense — mostly their home studio in Pennsylvania, but occasionally Texas, LA, or any place a collaborator happens to be. Their goal is simple but ambitious: music that feels immediate and easy to sink into, while carrying the detail of a score. They both juggle other creative lives too — composing, teaching, producing — which probably explains why their arrangements feel so grounded and so free at the same time.
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