Shygirl – ATLAS
Genre: Hip Hop
Score: 9/10
This is the second EP of London based singer & DJ Blaine Muise aka Shygirl.What to Expect: I have not heard of her until I heard the song SLIME released earlier as a single, and my attention was instantly grabbed. I then went back and listened to her Cruel Practice EP and now I’m excited. I’m expecting this to be a pretty hardhitting EP with a pretty eclectic combination of sounds and styles of hip hop and electronic music.
Overall: I very much got that. What I didn’t expect just how more amazingly produced this EP is compared to her last. This EP has even sharper songs that are consistently dark and sexy, covering a very wide range of electronic and hip hop styles over a very short runtime. Shygirl consistently sounds larger than life on each song, with her delivery setting the tone of each song really well. Fans of the rising hyperpop scene as well as hip hop fans can find common ground with an artist like Shygirl. I’m excited for her full-length debut.
Play by Play:
1. TWELVE – The metallic bells and the sub bass hits are menacing. Her delivery is absolutely devilish. The super woozy and dark vibe reminds me of rappers like SpaceGhost Purp or Rob Ba$e, but with a quieter, eerier delivery.
2. SLIME – This techno beat is bloodpumping. Hip house is back in full force. The groove is very West Coast, and sounds straight out of the Bay Area. The pre-chorus sounds like an idea off of Rodeo. The beat is crisp as hell, the drums are super resonant and tight. The drum timbres remind me of a lot of London techno DJs. I can definitely hear Kai Winston having a hand on this beat. This song sounds just as hardhitting as when I first heard it prior to the release of this EP.
3. FREAK – The driving beat rumbles like an industrial hip hop song. It reminds me of a rave like beat that Death Grips would make on their less conventional records (at least for their own standards). Her performance very much lives up to the title, reminding me of Beyonce on her freakier tracks.
4. TASTY – Sounds like a Eurohouse beat. Love the classic breakbeat drum sample. Those 808 sub hits are so tight and make this a banger. She’s clearly super studied in UK electronic genres like Drum & Bass, House, Jungle, dubstep, and future garage. I hear classic groups like the Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy, Burial, and even current acts like PC Music and Iglooghost. This is a great electronic music EP so far
5. LENG – This is a UK rap banger. I love the flight of the bumble interpolation. It’s catchy, goofy and she just goes in. Grime fans, take note. She’s clearly not a one trick pony. I love how wonky and relentless this beat is, despite how simple it is. I also love the chopped n screwed hook. I can think of a multitude of mainstream rappers this side of the pond would complement her sound really well in a collaboration.
6. BAWDY – This beat is so crushing and reminds me of hyperpop acts like PC Music and SOPHIE. Her flow reminds me of MIA, which is enhanced by the crushing trap beat and all of the weird sounds littered throughout the beat. Lyrically, Shygirl is hot and heavy on this track, and her close-up delivery adds to the primal vibe of the track.
7. SIREN – I love the house intro and the kooky synths. The techno beat is driving and bouncy. Her delivery is smoky and sexy. I love the siren metaphor that she uses throughout the song. The vocal effects make it sound so psychedelic, I feel like I’m tripping on the dancefloor, and that drop is so mellow and fun. This song reminds me the most of British electronic DJs and producers like Disclosure and Iglooghost. I also love how each beat in this EP progresses and never gets dull from front to back. Give this woman all the resources she needs to make that debut album, because this EP is fire.
Score: 9/10
Favorite Track in Bold
Just my opinion