Shamir - Revelations

Shamir
Revelations
2017
Spotify

A lot has changed for Shamir in between his first record Rachet in 2015 and this new full length Revelations. It seemed like He had found a lane in the turned up disco of Rachet, however a move out of Las Vegas to Philadelphia seemed to signal a change in the young artist pivoting to a Lo-Fi sound. He recorded his last EP Hope in his room by himself and that DIY attitude extends to this record as well. "90's Kids" the appeal to his generation and trying to sum up the attitude of his peers and somewhat tends to give a view into Shamir's emotionally state. For him things aren't about being rachet anymore, the world isn't a party for him to experience at this point and instead He is more focused on capturing a real emotion. Since Rachet Shamir broke with his label and decided to take his work in a totally different direction an almost complete abandonment of who He used to be. The album is filled with the musings of an proclaimed introvert, more willing to communicate through song than twitter or facebook. The words he uses are so relatable to anyone within his age group even when He tries to dive a little deep into the self examination at times. This album so much more than Rachet feels like therapy, especially since Shamir recorded it mostly on his own.

The one problem with this is Shamir get so specific it feels like an album made solely for him that doesn't always connect with his audience. The music is still catchy as hell even in this Lo-Fi form Shamir is still able to capture the essence of a good pop song. Even when trying to be experimental Shamir keeps it tight with the album only reaching 31 minutes. The songs reach their hooks quickly, but don't often hang there. I think the real question for a fan is whether or not an artist can change their style this significantly and still be that artist you loved. There is so much more introspection on this album but it never really connects, not in the way the EP Hope did. Both albums being so vastly different means that Shamir is no longer the artist from Rachet and maybe never will be again. It's a strange space to be in and this album only leaves you further confused.

6.0 out of 10