Shimmering by Gary Drannow is a uniquely honest track about first love, exploring the intensity of the emotions associated with romance and heartbreak, especially the first time.
Gary covers these feelings from a mixed perspective.
Parts of the song feel like he is immersing us back in his high school days while others feel like looking back on the relationship with the added perspective of adult life. “Such a long time since I met you on the campus stairs” conveys a very different energy from other lyrics such as “Everywhere you go you’re shimmering.” Together, they paint this vivid picture of the dull ache of melancholic hindsight that comes from looking back at love from a distance. The track does a nice job of keeping that tone while also immersing the audience in the narrative of the song.
The idea of someone you love shimmering feels true to life in terms of how love can alter our perspectives on people. It also hints at the rose-tinted hue of Drannow’s memories that he sees her shimmering no matter where she goes.
The guitar mirrors the tone of the narrative brilliantly. I specifically enjoy the way it reacts to the sad twists and turns of the song. It conveys this deflated vibe in lines such as “When we were apart, I was sad from the start.” The vocals, supplied by Caspar Aesthetic, inject the lyrics with a further emotional edge. It’s clear that Caspar understands the balance of such a nuanced track, feeling bold during the high moments and deflated during the low ones. Overall, his passion is the constant that shines through from beginning to end. When the track reveals that the speaker still feels for their love, Caspar’s vocals manage to capture that emotional climax beautifully. There is a profound honesty to the delivery which is part of what makes the track so enthralling to listen to.
Shimmering above all else feels heartfelt. In delivery, conception, and execution, its honest and raw energy caught me off guard in a great way.