In this godforsaken year of never-ending “what now?!”, Portland psych-pop crew Glistener appear hell-bent on utilizing what they have when they have it. But this is precisely what the music-starved masses of the Pacific Northwest and beyond deserve: a steady stream of radical sounds to soothe the collective sighs of a weird time—and Glistener is doing it all with style and aplomb.
The fourth in their onslaught of single releases from their six-song, self-titled debut EP this year, “Shadows” is a sun-blotched cut redolent of vocalist/songwriter JT Lindsey’s measured pop sensibilities, served with a trippy twist. Warbly synths and swirling guitars lend themselves to the psychedelic underbelly of what might otherwise be simply a stellar pop tune, but with the contrast creates a vacillating aural treat that benefits from repeated listens. Lindsey is joined by a revolving door of insular bandmates from the likes of Aan, Night Heron and Pegasus Dream, among others.
“‘Shadows’ was written as an abstract ode to [the] golden hour—that brief period of the sunset where time seems to slow down and colors glow with a golden warmth,” explains keyboardist Andy Sonwell. “Having spent an entire day at the river, we became fixated on the subtly psychedelic patterns that appeared on the water as the shadows fell and day turned to night. Upon arriving home that evening, the chorus of the song was developed around this visual phenomenon and the rest was history.”
