Shygirl’s second studio album is an impressive achievement: a meticulously crafted, high-quality throwback to the rave scene of the 2000s, where you bring your Tamagotchi along and dance until sunrise.
Shygirl first burst onto the underground pop scene in the late 2010s, deftly blending hip-hop with the then-emerging sounds of hyperpop and deconstructed club. On her 2022 debut album, Nymph, she shifted towards alternative R&B, before spending the following years releasing just a handful of EPs and guest verses. Her second full-length, SWALLOW!, is her most energetic work to date. Fusing folktronica with trip-hop, art pop, and EDM, the record feels like one endless party that never lets up for a second.
Take the opening track, “Alyse”, which serves as something of a slow burner. Shygirl’s gentle vocals at the beginning seem to prepare the listener for the spectacular explosion waiting in the second half: a thunderous breakbeat that rattles your skull, while the repeated line “Come close to me” sounds both soothing and intriguing. “Lucky[Hymn]” ventures into trip-hop and shoegaze, while also bringing Britney Spears’ song of the same name to mind. On “Luvli”, Shygirl embraces heavier post-punk textures, and her languid delivery occasionally recalls Deftones frontman Chino Moreno.
This stylistic diversity is the album’s greatest strength: it’s hard to find two tracks that sound alike. “Submit” channels the fury and energy of The Prodigy, making it one of the loudest moments on the record. It’s a thrilling collision of punk and techno: Shygirl screams and lets loose, yet sounds more self-assured than ever. On “Real”, her vocals are so dreamy and robotic that it’s hard to believe the track was released in 2026 rather than 20 or 30 years ago. “Déjà Vu”, meanwhile, really comes alive when guitar parts kick in over the breakbeat, while “Mantra” transports you straight to the coolest rave in town — the kind of night that leaves every inch of your body aching the next morning.
Shygirl goes all out on SWALLOW!: across 35 minutes and 11 tracks, there isn’t a single filler or second wasted. She pushes experimentation to the limit, and the combination of indie-rock elements and high-octane electronics proves more successful than ever. This is a masterfully crafted record that sweeps you onto the dancefloor beneath its flashing lights from the very first track, keeping you firmly in its grip until the final seconds. It won’t wear you out; instead, it will help you unleash that inner euphoria you’ve been longing to set free.
7.7/10
