Nearly 10 years ago, Las Vegas-born Shamir was a left-field club-pop sensation signed to UK label XL. Citing musical differences, Shamir soon left for a prolific DIY career making raw, lo-fi guitar music. His last – eighth – album, Heterosexuality (2022), was particularly notable, doubling down on heavier, quasi-industrial sounds. Taking the rebellious icon of Baphomet as a totem, this non-binary, he-pronoun, queer Black person took eloquent aim at oppressors everywhere.
For his ninth LP, Shamir has signed to Kill Rock Stars, home to riot grrrl in the 90s. A little disappointingly, it also marks a return to common-or-garden indie rock. Some tracks convey Shamir’s insights better than others. Oversized Sweater is a deceptively easy-going banger about lost love and the jumper Shamir knitted as part of his 2020 recovery, quitting smoking and marijuana after a spell in psychiatric care. But Our Song, also about heartbreak, treads water musically.
