Ryan Patterson, former frontman of the Louisville band Coliseum, now makes music on his own under the name Fotocrime. Later this week, Fotocrime will follow 2020’s South Of Heaven with the new album Heart Of Crime, which Patterson recorded at home, mostly by himself, during lockdown. Patterson wrote, recorded, produced, and mixed everything, and he played almost all the instruments. In the process, he pushed Fotocrime’s sound in a direction that recalls the icy throb of ’80s post-punk and new wave. We’ve already posted the early single “Delicate Prey,” and today, Patterson has released another track.

The new “So So Low” is a fine example of the new album’s arch and cinematic DIY sound. Patterson still sounds like the punk bellower he once was, but he’s changed his delivery to match the song’s spartan beat and its catchy hook. Patterson sings about living an isolated life, mourning the death of someone close to him: “Closed my eyes so the light can’t find me/ The callous world still spins along/ Outside, the sun would blind me/ The shades stay drawn.” Talking about the song, Patterson says:

Possibly my favorite and the most personal song on Heart Of Crime, “So So Low” was written as I was dealing with grief and guilt after a close family member died. He was visiting me in my dreams, I was reading books and listening to records he left behind, and as I say in the song, grief felt like an anchor that could have drowned me. The video puts that figurative feeling into a literal setting, as I sink underwater with my guitar. The dichotomy of “So So Low” is that it’s one of the catchiest and most pop-based on the album. I suppose I’m often trying to mine pop from pain.

Watch the “So So Low” video below.

Heart Of Crime is out 8/27 on Profound Lore.