Cold Beat's Dreamy Synth-Pop Song '62 Moons' Takes Off

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Cold Beat. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Cold Beat.

Courtesy of the artist

Fans and writers always tie singer and songwriter Hannah Lew's dormant band to her current one and perhaps rightfully so; Grass Widow set the post-2010s post-punk scene on fire. But over the four years of its existence, San Francisco's Cold Beat has made simultaneously dynamic and atmospheric post-punk that plays to Lew's songwriting acumen and surreal lyricism.

With the forthcoming Chaos By Invitation, mostly recorded by Phil Manley (Trans Am) at El Studio, Lew and her band lean into their pop sensibilities more than ever, and bring a load of synths with them. "62 Moons" is the first single, a synth-pop song that swims in crystalline guitars a la Modern English, with a Brill Building romanticism. In its final minute, a wistful, whistling monosynth lead launches the track from Earth, as Lew exhales her "fade to black."

Turns out space is the place for "62 Moons" — Lew says it's "a song about love taken for granted, analogous to the 62 moons of Saturn, in constant loving orbit around a beautiful siren planet with many satellites."

Chaos By Invitation comes out April 7 via Crime On The Moon.