There are few things I love more than a new HEIZE album, but there is nothing I love more than a new winter-themed HEIZE release. Though I’m still reeling over releases from winters past, like 2018’s “First Sight” or “Round and Round” from the hit K-Drama Guardian: The Great and Lonely God, the K-R&B goddess has blessed us with another winter wonder to add to her collection: Last Winter.

Led by title track “Stranger” featuring 10cm, Last Winter curates a cozy, heartwarming soundscape that’s sure to keep any listener warm for the winter months ahead. For a title, the acoustic “Stranger” is softer than HEIZE’s usual takes, made all the sweeter with honeyed harmonies between HEIZE and 10cm’s Kwon Jungyeol. Don’t be fooled by the comfy acoustics, though: both acts are known for releasing some of the most emotive music. Put these two together and you have a recipe for a gut-wrenching breakup song—and that is exactly what “Stranger” is. The Korean title “입술,” meaning “lips,” tells the story of a relationship where two halves drift apart from each other, where lips that once spoke words of love now speak only of heartbreak. The music video is just as somber, showing HEIZE and her co-star actor Lee Jinwook begin to grow apart before mutually deciding to put an end to their love. Flitting between poignant moments in the present and memories of happier times past, “Stranger” shows HEIZE and Jinwook coming to terms with their choice to part ways. If the song itself doesn’t make you feel things, the music video for “Stranger” will have you choking back tears several seconds in.

Last Winter opens with a classic HEIZE bossa-nova style cut in “Perhaps, Happy Ending” that leads into “Stranger.” “Last Winter” follows next with HEIZE singing against a jazzy piano that sets the winter holiday vibe. “Forget Me Not” features BIG Naughty in a rap portion that adds a bite to what is otherwise a piano ballad. Meanwhile, “Picnic of Night” brings back the groovy sound that HEIZE has so easily mastered in her career, adding a slinky beat to the sorrowful tracklist with the help of Chan. “Midnight” trades in piano for acoustic guitar once more, with HEIZE really leaning into the R&B side of her artistry. The last vocal track on the album is “FM 89.1” where HEIZE declares she will have her happy ending hinted at in the album’s opening track. It’s not a HEIZE album if there’s no whimsical instrumental outro track; Last Winter warmly winds to a close with “Love goes around comes around.” 

Eight mini-albums in and HEIZE still never disappoints—check out her latest album Last Winter and you’ll agree.

Edited by Aleena Faisal