2024 is starting strong for club girls with remixed tracks from Kelela, genre-pushing from Lil Simz and now another release from iconic Blaine Muse (AKA Shygirl), one of the women leading the electronic scene. Almost a year after her 2023 album Nymph_o, Shygirl has released Club Shy. The EP consists of 6 tracks, embodying nightclub vibes and feminine sexuality.
The first track ‘4ever’ (featuring Empress Of and Kingdom) starts the EP with bouncy android vocals and throbbing bass. Shygirl is known for her 90s/early 2000s style and this track brings back nostalgic deep house production by producer and DJ Kingdom who she has previously worked with on ‘Firefly’.
Following on, ‘f@k€’ also features production from Kingdom but leans more into heavy phonk basslines. The electronic instrumentals and repeating lyrics push the 2000s micro miniskirts and pink everything energy: ‘Who wants to be real, I just want to be fake’. The darker beat and almost motivational lyrics would work interchangeably in a club or gym.
The next track ‘mute’ featuring Lolo Zouaï resembles 90s trance house from producers like Riton with bright synths and thumping bass. The collaboration with Lolo Zouaï’s vocals adds a softer and pop edge to Shygirl’s dominating and trance-inducing tone.
The blocky chords and ethereal overlapping vocals of ‘tell me’ are classic dancefloor fillers. With the addition of producer, Boys Noize, this track brings a summer festival feeling to the listener. The drum panning in the choruses is like a brain scratch and adds a fun touch to Shygirl’s pretty harmonies.
‘mr useless’ is another collaboration with highly sought-after producer, SG Lewis (who has worked with Clairo, Khalid, Victoria Monet, and many other big artists). The lyrics ‘never needed Mr useless from the start’ repeat along with upbeat and ambient computerised instrumentals. Despite being the second to last track this song shows no sign of winding down.
The final track ‘thicc’, featuring Cosha is a hypersexual party anthem. Shygirls vocals blend perfectly with Coshas along with classic EDM rises and pulsing bass. The colourful music video oozes 90s techno, house aura, and is almost like a gay Cocomelon. Although it’s the longest song at almost 4 minutes, there’s no sense of boredom and maintains addictive dance energy throughout.
Club Shy is an extension of Shygirl’s club experience and pays homage to London’s nightlife. All of the tracks on this EP could easily be used as nightclub content and would no doubt sound even better live, surrounded by lasers and a sticky dancefloor. The only downside of her new release is that you’re left wanting more.
Words by Izzy Logie
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