Jeff Glatz Lover’s Waltz Review: Steady and Sweet

If Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” was accompanied by a soundtrack, Jeff Glatz’s moody EP, “Multiverse,” would be it. It’s a great debut that, with a proper follow-up in the form of a full-length LP, could jumpstart the career of the San Antonio recording artist. Out on November 5, the project is the perfect warm-up for a cold winter.

The 21-minute long, string-laden affair features “On The Other Side,” “I Love You,” “Dream in Color” and a cover of A.A. Bondy’s 2007 song, “Lover’s Waltz.”

With chord progressions and melodies inspired by Phil Collins and Coldplay, a song like “On the Other Side” would easily fit into a cheesy romantic comedy, set on a rainy New York City day. But that doesn’t mean that the EP doesn’t have sunny moments. The tempo change during the second half of “I Love You” is proof of that and it shows that Glatz can flex his musical muscle in more than just one way.

Aside from what may seem like an issue with the mastering, some of the music’s quirky production may be intentional, like the static at the beginning of “On the Other Side” or the reverb in “Lover’s Waltz.”

The layering of instruments like the electric and acoustic guitars, as well as the bass, is on par with the vocal layering of a singer like Brandy Norwood whose vocal layering and harmonies inspired The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ critically acclaimed “Stadium Arcadium.” John Frusciante, one of the band’s former guitarists explained her influence on the record by saying, “There is so much going on, you can’t hear her voice with your conscience, you have to hear it with your subconscious.” The same goes for “Multiverse.” If you just let the sounds become one, you can listen to the music as it is intended.

Glatz’s cover of “Lover’s Waltz” fits perfectly at the end of the EP, but as a standalone track, it’s nothing amazing. As an artist who’s trying to establish himself, he should stray from covers unless he adds a new element to songs the way I Prevail did to Taylor Swift’s “Blank Page.”

One of the lyrics on the EP is “I believe in everything,” and during the course of the album, it’s a sentiment that holds throughout. Though the album is hopeful and romantic, it never gets too campy or too saccharine. The music here is believable and that’s something that many artists struggle with.

Hopefully Glatz could get a good promotional run for the album since it is something that could earn him a following. If not, he’d just be sending some damn good music into an empty multiverse, pun intended.