Glitter is an enveloping new EP from Lauren Wanamaker, whose beautiful folk sound caught our ears last year with the Rest & Reprieve EP. The release’s impactful songwriting was inspired by personal loss and pandemic experiences. These losses span from people and community to identity and faith — effectively capturing personal growth, sometimes forced through circumstance and other times arisen via personal motivation.
“Everything You Are” opens the EP with a heartfelt vocal emphasis. The solemn acoustic accompaniment represents the release’s sparsest instrumental arsenal across its five tracks. Wanamaker’s riveting vocal presence compels from start to finish. “Last night I saw you in a dream, holding out your hand,” a sense of mourning conveys, letting out later that “one day I might understand it your way.” The yearning lyrical prowess throughout is stirring.
The ensuing “With Me” initially begins with a similarly subdued folk entrancement, building thereafter into gorgeous guitar twangs and understated strings, reminding “it’s not goodbye, just a change in the tide,” during a particularly affecting ascent. The “’til we meet again,” repetition builds upon the opener’s themes of physical and spiritual demises, and reflecting on an unforgettable presence/influence. Strings assume a more prominent role on “Father,” where trickling guitars combine alongside those aforementioned themes; the “I hear you forever,” finality furthers those elements of one having a noted impact.
The final two tracks resonate in their thematic drive to break away from tumult. “Going Away” weaves in a backing vocal reflection amidst the strings and acoustics, into a title-touting catharsis that beckons to move on from choppy waters. “My Devotion” recognizes these difficulties in moving on. “I wish you would release me,” Wanamaker lets out, emotively gripping in its sincere call to move past anguish. Glitter is an EP that doesn’t let up in its quality, from-the-heart songwriting.
