Review Summary: Comfort found in melancholy
Silver Pin, Gleemer’s Corey Coffman solo project, carries some of the same emotional DNA one would get from his previous work: melodies suspended somewhere between comfort and sadness, and vocals that aren’t interested in forcing their way into the room. However, with Calling Room, everything feels more intimate and slightly stranger, like unmoulded thoughts the artist wasn’t originally planning to say out loud.
“8628” is a wonderful introduction to that world, slowly stretching itself out through hazy vocals and a melody that emerges gently around beautifully simple guitars. It is followed by Angel, a gorgeous little piece that could easily fit in a Gleemer project and is probably the strongest track here. The title track pushes further into the album’s dreamlike slowcore atmosphere. On the other side of this is Wishing Well, which to me feels more like an interlude, lacking in both structure and, in my opinion, purpose, though there is still something to take away from this dark and moody piece. The second half of the album continues to navigate between comfort and experimentation, accompanied by effortlessly smooth choruses. By the time “Dreams Come True” closes the album, it’s clear Coffman isn’t reinventing himself here, but creating a new outlet through which to express himself without relying on Gleemer’s unique sound and established identity.
The album lives in a particular emotional space where melancholy becomes comforting. Guitars shimmer quietly folding into one another, while the restrained drums leave plenty of air around Coffman’s voice. Helped by its brevity, nothing here is especially dramatic on its own, and that’s where it shines. Calling Room builds its weight through repetition, atmosphere and subtle melodic details that gradually settle into you. It is a subtle, abstract album, that feels as warm as it feels distant, but give it enough space and it will start feeling like somewhere you have already been.
