Review Summary: Gleamer has a slamming start, a solid finish, and a confusing and drawn out middle. If you're seeking a summer anthem, be sure to check out the title track.
Gleamer is Sam Cooper's sixth project uploaded to his Bandcamp, but his first that he's published on major platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify. And it makes sense -- while the EP is only 3 songs in length (or 4 if you count the instrumental demo of the titular track), it contains by far his most polished work, and probably the songs with most mass appeal.
Let's get this out of the way: The title track, Gleamer, is absolutely SENSATIONAL. It is a summer anthem defined; a track you would listen to while driving around with your friends on a hot summer day. The guitar riff is just BEGGING to be played at a beach somewhere right now. If you're looking for songs like that to throw on your post-quarantine summer playlist, definitely check out this one.
But when the song Gleamer ends, the EP quickly loses it's identity.
Loving goes back to Cooper's roots in digital music, which is an incredibly jarring transition from the slamming track that preceded it. It's not a bad song, but simply doesn't fit, and at over 7 minutes long, it takes up nearly half of the EP. This track does little but confuse the identity of the project: the title track, which opens the EP, has one sound, but then the proceeding song, which takes up half of the album, has a completely different genre to it. It's confusing, awkward, and as someone who doesn't really enjoy digital music, this seven minute song brings down my rating of the project as a whole quite a bit.
Following is 12345jewel12345, which finds a nicer balance between digital music and live instrumentation. It's a slow track, but a good one, and fits in significantly better with the opening track than Loving does. The strings here have a nice balance, and the track ends with a fun riff and some punchy instrumentals. Overall, the song does a nice job of closing up the EP, but would make a bit more sense if the middle track served as a nicer transition to this point.
That titular opening track is incredibly strong, and grabs your attention right away, but that attention is quickly lost by a 7 minute, drawn out digital song. While the closer is good, it isn't enough to save the EP as a whole. Even if you don't care for the order of tracks, or listening to them all together as one project, Loving simply doesn't fit in here, and isn't really on the same level as the songs which surround it.
In conclusion: Gleamer is the standout song here, a 4/5 on its own. 12345jewel12345 is also worth a listen if you care for it. If you like digital music, maybe check out Loving. Overall, a 3/5.
