Life can feel like one big storm at times, whether it’s a torrential downpour outside or within. Many times, we look to escape from these conditions. Gallant’s new track, “Coldstar.,” speaks to this sentiment of finding solace during tough times.
The contemplative song’s production flows gently like a kiss from the wind. The lyrics are vivid yet succinct in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the ear. “When… There’s thunder in my head / I count sheep in my bed / Wanna count on you instead,” he croons. The Columbia, Maryland, native is known for his hair-raising falsetto notes, but on “Coldstar.,” he opts for a mellow performance.
Gallant says the Stint-produced song’s inspiration came on a gloomy day in April. “I kept thinking about when I used to feel down a lot, how I would wrestle with this persistent feeling of ‘wanting to go home when I’m already there,'” he notes. “We had both been listening to a bunch of old video game soundtracks from 1999, and Stint ended up finding this synth sound that reminded me of something you’d hear in the water level of some Sega Dreamcast platformer. Immediately it all felt like a distant, core memory that I eagerly wanted to return to — and the whole song pretty much just spontaneously materialized after that.”
He concludes, “Now whenever I listen back to ‘Coldstar.’, I get to live in that wishful space for just a couple of minutes. Hopefully, it has the same effect on you when you press ‘play.'”
“Coldstar.” is Gallant’s first release on the indie label Mom+Pop Music. Last year, he teamed with producer and musician Terrace Martin to release their joint project, sneek. Prior to that, Gallant released his last project Neptune in 2021. The EP included features from Brandy, Arin Ray, and VanJess.
Check out Gallant’s new song “Coldstar.” below.
