Shygirl - Cleo

  • Shygirl gets luxe on a new track that blends vintage house with baroque pop.
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  • "Cleo" begins with a swell of strings, setting up Shygirl's new single to be one of her most ornate, even baroque, songs yet. Then that falls away into a vintage house organ bassline—think "Show Me Love"—as Shygirl boasts about winning awards and owning the VIP section in her husky half-whisper. She's inhabited many alter egos in the past, and this time she invites you to call her Cleopatra. The instrumental fits—its svelte mix of orchestral grandeur and slinky house groove sounds expensive, almost gaudy. The fearless blend of genres (and confidence) reminds me of the creative peak of mid-'80s Madonna, and while that's quite a claim to make, Shygirl's got everything—including an incredible video—to back it up.
RA