There are times when you wonder if there is such a thing as a Glasgow "sound" or whether there is just a lack of inspiration in the water that makes so many bands from that no mean city sound the same. Then you hear a band like Shimmer and you know that good old fashioned musical values are still alive.
This, I think, is their first EP and features five tracks. The interesting thing here is the consistency of these songs showing, as they do, a clear understanding of commercial song writing. You see, Shimmer do big songs. They do songs that designed to fill rooms and to fill stadiums. That anthemic quality is most evident in "Shadows" but it is far from hidden on the other tracks. You can almost see lighters waving in the air when you listen to "Fight For Nothin'", for example.
Of course, if you're aiming to kick Coldplay out of your way then you had better have a good front man and Shimmer have one in Gary Lynass. He shows the requisite vocal power and confidence to sell those lyrics to you over all those layered guitars and pounding keyboards. Now that I think of it, the word I am looking for is drama. His singing matches the songs.
So while these songs don't stretch any musical boundaries, they remain remarkably satisfying and that is the sign of a band that is really on the right track.