Music bounces your reflection back to you much like a clear pool does. Instead of rippling water, that reflection materializes in waves of sound and vocals. The Light The Heat assemble ponderous cinematic indie folk out of lush instrumentation, thought-provoking lyrics, and soft harmonies. For as much as the music reveals about its creators Nathan Horst and Jesse Proctor, it might just show you a thing or two about yourself. After amassing 20 million-plus streams independently, the duo teamed up with Nashville composer and producer Roary for the 2021 collaborative Afterlight EP.Nathan and Jesse initially met in 2014 and collaborated on music for film and television. Locking into a groove, the pair unveiled the Silhouettes EP during 2017 as The Light The Heat. Following a series of singles and the holiday Back to the Start EP, the band served up their full-length debut, Wide Awake, in 2020. “All For You” amassed over 5 million Spotify streams, while “Rest of Our Lives” generated north of 3.5 million streams as “Endless Story” also crossed the 1 million-mark. After hearing the title track “Wide Awake,” Roary reached out on Instagram. He sent over an instrumental, and The Light The Heat immediately embraced the vibe.In the end, The Light The Heat shine on Afterlight by encouraging us to reflect. “For us, 2020 was a year of reflection,” observes Nathan. “We found ourselves and woke up like, ‘How can we become our true selves and not just be spectators, but actually get involved?’ It encouraged a lot of self-reflection. We try to touch on universal subjects in a tangible way.”