REVIEW: Jeremy Zucker’s new EP, “glisten” portrays his struggles through poetic songs

Indie artist Jeremy Zucker continues to stay true to himself while impressing listeners with his latest EP, “glisten,” which was released on May 4. The songs were written during his senior year of college to balance his school pressures, his music and his social life.

“I guess I wrote this EP to make sense of it all,” Zucker said in an Instagram post. “‘glisten’ is a collection of the thoughts, feelings and memories that kept me sane these past ten months.”

As a result, the lyrics have a genuine feel to them. Combined with an overall upbeatness, Zucker proves that heavy topics do not need a heavy tone, a staple of much of the artist’s work. This is most prominent on the lead track, “all the kids are depressed,” which deals with the topic of mental health.

“How long have you been smiling? It seems like it’s been too long,” Zucker sings. In these opening lines, the artist questions how people refuse to legitimize depression and choose to ignore it.

Next on the EP is a fundamental track for just about any indie artist without capitalization in their titles: the breakup song. “wildfire” tells a story that has been heard a million times before: a couple meets, a couple splits and then a song is written. Even the lyrics seem to just be a repeat of the work of others remixed with short spurts of electronica. However, while unoriginal, the song isn’t half bad and the fact that it comes from experience redeems it to some degree.

The EP’s namesake, “glisten (interlude),” is one of Zucker’s best works yet. His vocals on the track are accompanied by little more than the strumming of a guitar and soft background static.

The song ends with the lines, “That’s life when you compromise,’cause I could let go if I wanted to.” Zucker tells his story of lost love through the use of his voice and emotional lyrics. There is no fluff or filler because every word he says is necessary to glimpse into his life and experiences. Running at only 90 seconds, a listener’s only regret is that there isn’t more.

On the EP’s ending track, “better off,” Zucker features Chelsea Cutler midway through. In April, both Zucker and Cutler (along with Quinn XCII) partnered with Visionary Music Group, resulting in the strong collaboration. The female vocals accompany Zucker’s own voice quite nicely and give a certain refreshing quality. Overall, the two work well together to describe a relationship where both parties contemplate separation.

In “glisten,” Jeremy Zucker puts his experiences on full display in the form of his songwriting, and with only four brief tracks, the musical talent has left fans craving his next release.