26: Shamir: Ratchet

We should all raise our hands and rejoice that artists like Shamir exist, he fits in no obvious hole and listening to his music or watching him perform you at once worry that there is absolutely no crowd that exists for him and also realise with delight that he may be your favourite thing in the world. At the very least he harkens back to the days when your grandparents angrily complained that they couldn’t tell if the performer on Top of the Pops was a boy or a girl, and Shamir delights in playing up to his inherent sexual androgyny (as he considers himself neither male or female he prefers to refer to himself as ‘queer’ rather than gay. I’ve decided it best I don’t refer to him this way) His debut is marvellously constructed pop-dance, as Shamir bounces around like a toddler let loose in the Sunny Delight cupboard, coming across as the Azealia Banks it’d be super fun (rather than terrifying) to hang out with. OK, I’ll admit, of all the albums on this list it’s Shamir’s that I can most envision some people finding extremely annoying, but isn’t such what divisiveness part of what makes pop music so great?

‘Fun’ Fact: Any night out with Azealia Banks would invariably end with you walking home alone with one shoe on.

Sounds a bit exhausting if I’m being honest: That’s always a worry, so the mid-paced ‘Darker‘ is perfectly placed near the album’s end

Album Link