New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, Philadelphia-via-Las
Vegas shapeshifting musician
Shamir announced his 9th album & debut for the legendary Kill Rock Stars label - Homo Anxietatem is out August 18, recorded and produced by Hoost aka Justin Tailor (Rina Sawayama) in London. After a run of critically acclaimed heavy rock and industrial-tinged records, the non-binary artist now transmutes his anxiety to alternately subdued and soaring alt-pop songs, as the Latin translation of the album's title, "anxious man," suggests.
Shamir explains healing debut single & video "Oversized Sweater": "The first quarter of 2020 before lockdown I felt a lot of anxiety. I was fresh out the psych ward and had quit smoking weed and cigarettes cold turkey. I spent the first couple months of 2020 knitting this huge baby blue sweater. It's basically a wearable security blanket that I used to channel all my anxiety into. I wear it all the time, but most notably in the video for my song 'Diet.'"
By shifting workflow, gaze, and attitude,
Shamir has created a sincerely familiar yet instantly outstanding album in Homo Anxietatem. Meanwhile, never has this stunning music sounded so effortless. That could owe to the Philadelphia-based artist's unshakeable work ethic. For a 28 year-old, Shamir's amassed a huge amount of savvy, as well as a devoted following - appearing in series like Dear White People and Tuca & Bertie, publishing the book But I'm a Painter, creating his own record label Accidental Popstar Records, playing shows with Le Tigre, Courtney Barnet, Troye Sivan, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, collaborating with Rina Sawayama,
Mac DeMarco and many more.
Shamir's art is a synthesis of the full spectrum of human emotion; sensual, furious, yearning, joyful and yet tethered together by a very distinct style (similarly to the greats such as Miss Nina Simone,
Prince and Taylor Swift). He's always had a way of turning the mundane into the magical. On this new album, lines that could feel tossed off in the hands of a more careless songwriter become precious morsels in the hands of
Shamir - he never takes himself too seriously. Yet nothing is taken for granted; there are moments of pure joy and plenty of surprises throughout.
However, as always, there's sadness, darkness, and - in this case - an actual confrontation with the devil. "Not as sweet as I might seem,"
Shamir confesses on "Crime." "No interest in searching for meaning,"
Shamir ends the appropriately titled "Calloused." This is what happens when one of the most prolific songwriters of a generation calms down a bit: the search for meaning becomes meaningless. What happens when someone who lives a chronically unstable life finds solid ground?
And that meeting with the devil? Perhaps the biggest surprise is album closer, "The Devil Said the Blues is All I Know." The title should give an idea of its sound: a single take of slide guitar and voice. As the song fades out, a celebratory hoot can be heard. Maybe it's a celebration for a great take, or maybe simply that another album is finished. Given Shamir's breakneck working speed, it can be easy to overlook something in his oeuvre. Among a catalog of standouts, this one shines as its own.
Tracklisting:
Oversized Sweater
Wandering Through
Our Song
Appetizer
Calloused
Crime
The Beginning
Without You
Obsession
Words
The Devil Said The Blues Is All I'll Know
