Shygirl is a true chameleon. The British musician is a sonic experimentalist unafraid of taking her sound in unconventional directions, and a rapper with enough bravado and suave style to keep up with the best of her peers. Her main claim to fame, however, is undeniably her ability to deliver dancefloor greatness. With songs like “Slime” and “Siren” she’s shown a talent for undeniable hooks from the start. On last year’s Club Shy EP, she leaned all the way in. Along with a roster of well-regarded club music collaborators, Shygirl slotted herself into a variety of dance music sounds for her most straightforwardly fun project to date.
Club Shy Room 2, despite what its name might suggest, is not a repetition of that. Though just as collab-packed, this project sees Shygirl at her most authoritative. Opener “Je M’appelle” features a relatively minimal beat paired with the rapper in a braggadocios mood where her delivery of the title in the chorus hypnotically sultry. It’s an all eyes on me performance, and Shygirl is worthy of the attention.
What follows is a series of collaborations she makes the absolute most out of. At a glance Saweetie seems like an unusual choice for a Shygirl project, but atop the precise mid-tempo groove of “Immaculate” her seductive self-aggrandizing pairs well with the lead artist’s declarations of power over men. In another unexpected combo, “Wifey Riddim” brings in Jorja Smith and SadBoi for the closet thing this project has to a pop song. The guest artists each bring their own flavor of soft femininity, allowing Shygirl to deliver this kiss-off anthem with some levity.
The most surprising balancing act, however, comes on the closer “True Religion”. A synth-heavy dancehall, it sees Latin singer Isabella Lovestory turn up the energy on the verses while fellow Brit PinkPantheress makes the chorus all the more catchy with her soft cooing. Shygirl’s confidently nonchalant delivery fits both modes extremely well, making this one of the cuts with the most potential for dancefloor longevity.
If Shygirl captivates when she is simply showing one side of her skillset, when the production and her collaborators truly meet her talent she impresses. “Flex” with Bambii features dark synths and the two rapper/experimentalists riding every small change of the beat perfectly. It’s an anthem of nighttime seduction where every element from the instrumental to the performances to the lyrics conjures a mood perfectly. The cut that best stands up alongside Shygirl’s best though, is “F*Me” with Yseult. The most reminiscent of the original Club Shy EP in production, it arguably outdoes that whole record. It features one of Shygirl’s all time best hooks, and while her verses are as charismatic as ever, Yseult skilled and precise delivery comes the closest of all to stealing the show.
Club Shy Room 2 is possibly Shygirl’s least cohesive project, but only because it shows so many facets of the artist’s skillset in its brief 15 minutes. She is sexy, she is bossy, she is fun, she is alternative, she is pop, she is the life of the party. More than her audience, Shygirl has delivered a gift to the many DJs whose sets will benefit from her material. The fans meanwhile are treated to yet another work of endless replay value. I look forward to future opportunities to experience this material in a crowd.
