Gentle Heat Share New Single 'Closer II'

Chicago's Gentle Heat are back with the second single off their Sheer. Unlike the breakneck speed and immediacy of lead single "Total Orbit", "Closer II" highlights a different side of the band. Meditative keyboard arpeggios and ambient feedback build tension, delicate vocal harmonies floating above the web of beautiful noise until the song's crushing conclusion.

The Chicago quintet have been kicking around for a bit, and are stepping out on their first record for Flesh & Bone Records. Led by David Algrim, the group make compelling, noisey pop that pulls from shoegaze, post-punk and dream pop, sitting somewhere between contemporaries like Ovlov, and touchstones like The Swirlies and Sonic Youth.

On the new single, Algrim explains, "Closer II is a song about my desire and sometimes inability to move beyond simple frustrations that as an adult (I'm turning 30 in June) I feel like I should be better equipped to handle on a day-to-day basis. After a certain point, I find it hard to address and unpack what I need done to prevent myself from being agitated so it's usually more useful for me to stop what I'm doing to take time to be alone rather than powering through whatever I'm doing. I try to remind myself that needing space to process isn't a result of being young or emotionally immature, it's just part of being human and needing time for yourself (for me at least.)"

In an era of music during which the urge to define and dissect new genres competes only with the desire to ruthlessly consolidate old ones, Gentle Heat is refreshing in their purpose and consistency. Too lush to be relegated to post-punk or indie rock, and more sonically visceral than contemporary shoegaze, the Chicago quintet defies easy categorization in a way that makes their evolution as exciting to watch as it is to hear. By pure force of volume, Gentle Heat creates a sound all their own driven by propulsive rhythms and dissonant melodies.

With their newest release Sheer, Gentle Heat reaffirms this commitment with surgical efficiency. Even the most formless sounds have purpose; ethereal soundscapes give way to humming, knotted feedback. The addition of vocalist/ keyboardist Sarah Clausen has enabled the project to dive deeper into the ambient aspects of their sound, blending the record into a knotted cohesive piece.

On Sheer, Gentle Heat pares down their formula to the point that every piece becomes essential and immediate even as they are weaving together layers of sound. According to guitarist/ vocalist David Algrim, "The idea for this project has always been to create sonically dense music viewed through the lens of pop structure. With Sheer, the goal was to refine that concept to its most concise form." The result is a dynamic sound as likely to excite seasoned shoegaze listeners as it is to turn new heads in the back of the venue bar.

While the lineup has changed since the band's inception, Gentle Heat has maintained a musical coherence through their four releases that affords the germination of new ideas and fresh sounds while remaining reverent to their past. The synthesis of experience and influences offered up on Sheer marks a big step forward for the group, and with it, a momentum that is proportional to the energy of their sound.

Listen to the new single here:

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