Shamir - Darker

Shamir’s major label debut arrived in the shape of the hyperactive, haters-be-damned dance anthem ‘On the Regular.’ Closely followed by the equally spring-loaded ‘Call It Off,’ androgyny and disco propulsion came to the infectious fore, but there was always an inkling that Shamir’s beautifully crystalline vocals were capable of more versatile things. ‘Darker’ confirms those sneaking suspicions in trouncingly impressive style.

‘Darker’ pulls a complete U-turn on Shamir’s previous singles ahead of his debut album ‘Ratchet,’ trading in Duracell Bunny level mania in for an unexpected curveball of quiet reflection. “You know it doesn’t get darker, unless you expect it to, cos it’s getting harder to contain the truth,” sings Shamir, skipping across octaves like he’s playing a laidback game of hopscotch. He has the rare gift of voice that sounds like it has a life of its own. ‘On the Regular’ this most definitely is not, but Shamir and regular aren’t words that often go together.