If you think your favourite artist has been productive over the past few years, then take a moment and think of
Shamir. With the release of debut album ‘
Ratchet’, he seemed on course to be a creative dance-pop force rewriting the rulebook on another generation of pop artists. Instead, Shamir went to work changing the script. A string of DIY lo-fi punk records followed, released in rapid succession and capturing immediate moments in Shamir’s life - and the result is that ‘Shamir’ now stands as not just his second album this year, but his seventh album in five. If a lot has happened since ‘Ratchet’, ‘Shamir’ feels the most in-tune with that album - an accessible blending of the journey he’s been on ever since, distilled into a spiky and urgent return to the spotlight.
Drenched in that lo-fi edge he’s been dipping across over the past few years, tracks spark to life with a full intent. ‘
On My Own’, ‘
Running’, ‘
Paranoia’ and ‘Pretty When I’m Sad’ spin with garage-pop mentalities, ‘
Other Side’ leans on bluegrass and country whilst ‘
I Wonder’ transports into glitching electronica and stuttering PC blimps. For any other artist, the idea of all these ideas colliding may seem too much, but Shamir pulls it into a coherent whole with that insatiable knack of melody and songcraft.
