Earlier this week, COOL HEAT – also known as the lo-fi pop project of Chicago-based artist and photographer Eden Sierotnik – released “Lately,” the second official single from his upcoming debut LP Nowhere. The new album follows Sierotnik’s incredible 2021 EP Levitate, which further expounded his stunning, cinematic take on shoegaze and dream pop that was introduced in his 2020 self-titled debut (just take one listen to “Drift” and tell me that doesn’t take you to another dimension). Multi-textured yet subtly ethereal, modern yet lost in time, the project’s moniker is apt; Sierotnik proves with his highly unique, maximalist synth work that it is entirely possible to balance two opposing ideas with finesse. “Lately,” following the debut coldwave single “Devotion” with Midi Memory (aka Matt Messore/Cathedral Bells), takes a slightly different approach:
I wanted this one to have a “dreamy love song” vibe to it. I feel like most of my stuff tends to have a melancholic mood. While this track may still have a little bit of that, I like that this one sounds more uplifting both lyrically and sonically.
Fragments of a lovesick narrative are interspersed between jagged, metallic synth reminiscent of the splintered, ricoheted light from a shattered mirror, placed at just the right time as to evoke the act of piecing together a ripped valentine; growing simultaneously pensive and cathartic as it reaches the conclusion, Sierotnik ultimately chooses to wear his heart on his sleeve. “Let’s fall behind,” he asks, his voice melting into the gauzy ether, “‘cause you’re on my mind.”