Shygirl is back with the announcement of her new album, Swallow!, due November 6 via Because Music.
Shygirl calls Swallow! a reintroduction. The album is devotional and visceral, patient and euphoric. The instrumentation that winds its way through Swallow! was a way to manifest all the intense emotion and romanticism Shygirl has experienced. The result is indie songwriting woven through the electronica she came from, organized around a forward-moving motion, with its temporal sensibility imbued with the ability to take stock without standing still.
Alongside the album announcement, Shygirl shares a new single that hints at a taste of the record to come. “Lucky (Hymn)” is a cinematic anthem. The new single holds an accumulation of gestures that pile up when another person starts becoming really real to you: the crease of an eye, the corner of a smile, the sound of a sigh. There are choral echoes and piercing violin splinters.
The song comes alongside a music video co-directed by Shygirl and Austen Taylor Pease, which plays out like a film shot in one single, unbroken take. The video slides between Shygirl in character as Alyse, first introduced in her last video of the same name, and another character, Kay, switching between them both tied up and beaten in an unassuming kitchen. We see how these characters respond in the face of danger, adding another chapter to this cinematic universe created by Shygirl.
Shygirl began writing Swallow! at a pivotal coming-of-age moment in her life, fresh off the back of her debut album Nymph and falling in love. The album sounds open to the future and to the transcendent power of love. A world previously unknown had revealed itself, and Shygirl channels that sensation with a near-biblical conviction. It is the scripture of the cult of falling in love. Radiant, charged, and twilight-hued, the romanticism runs deep. It’s all-encompassing but clear-eyed.
During sporadic, unhurried sessions, Karma Kid made everything maximalist, while Casey MQ fine-tuned the delicate moments. Shygirl realized she didn’t need to leave her electronic roots behind to find something new.
Shygirl premiered new music from Swallow! at her recent set at Draaimolen Festival on September 4 in the Netherlands. She heads to Italy, Iceland, and Spain for further shows for the remainder of the year, with more details below.
Listen to “Lucky (Hymn)” above, find album details below, and stay tuned for more from Shygirl coming soon.
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