Dance Deity Shygirl basks in the critical acclaim of her debut album, . By Jose D. Duran I t’s just past noon in her home base of London, and Shy- girl is already feeling a bit listless. “I’m a little tired,” she warns over Zoom. “If you catch me yawning, it’s not because of your questions. It’s be- cause of me.” Shygirl has released two EPs — 2018’s Cruel Practice and 2020’s Alias — but the promotional cycle for her debut album, Nymph, is unlike anything she’s endured be- fore. And this time, it seems like she has more ears tuning in. When the 29-year-old started DJ’ing on the side a couple of years ago, she couldn’t have anticipated becoming an experimen- tal pop star with a devoted fan base. Also unexpected: the critical acclaim her work has received, up to and including stellar reviews of Nymph from the likes of Pitchfork and the Guardian. (It cur- rently holds an 85 rating on Metacritic.) “It’s been fun. It’s been an interesting Is she perhaps feeling imposter syndrome? “Less so now,” she says. “It’s more just that life doesn’t always give you what you want, and it doesn’t matter if I want it.” With her previous releases, Shygirl says, she didn’t put much I never expect to be understood sometimes. experience,” she says of the album’s re- lease. “I didn’t really imagine myself in this space. I’ve kind of been so focused on making the album that I didn’t anticipate what it would feel like afterward. So I’ve just been acclimatizing to that.” She admits to being taken aback by the pos- I could hope for it, but I don’t always feel entitled to it. itive response. “I never expect to be understood sometimes. I could hope for it, but I don’t always feel entitled to it,” she explains. “I wouldn’t have put [the album] out if I didn’t think it could stand up to scrutiny, but to actually receive it was actually an overwhelming experience. It was actually quite humbling in some way.” 6 1 “ ” thought into promotion. “I just made them and put them out,” she adds, pointing out that Alias came out amid the lockdown, hindering any real push. Still, the EP helped her ascension with cuts like “Tasty” and the Sophie-assisted “Slime.” She fol- lowed that momentum with the single “BDE” in 2021. Featuring British rapper Slowthai, the song reaches “WAP” levels of explicitness, as Shygirl proclaims, “Work me out, bust a sweat/Big dick will get me wet/Drippin’ through my panties/ You can lick me up on the regs,” declaring in no uncertain terms that only the well-en- dowed need apply. Lest you think raunchy lyrics are all that Shygirl’s made of, she flips that script on Nymph. While sounds like “Nike” and “Coochie (A Bedtime Story)” see the singer reasserting her sexuality, the album offers plenty of variety, both lyrically and rhythmi- cally. UK garage, bloghouse, folktronica, hy- perpop, R&B, and hip-house influences coat the entirety of Nymph, whose thematic focus is on love and sex — but entirely on Shygirl’s terms. In “Shlut,” she declares, “Woke up feelin’ like a slut, yeah, I like that/Hit a couple guys, they concur, I’m a bad bitch,” while the chorus paints her emotions more tenderly, “I can’t deal with the thought of you leavin’/Me left star- ing at the ceiling solo/I do better with you on my team and/Stay the night and we can lay low.” MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 OCTOBER 20-26, 2022 Angela Steps NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS |miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com miaminewtimes.com N ymph
