SWALLOW!: SHYGIRL RETURNS WITH A NEW ALBUM

words by DEBORAH DRENOFCI

Shygirl returns with her new album Swallow!, out November 6th via Because Music. It's a record built on contrast, tender in places, raw in others, yet full of energy.

images courtesy of BECAUSE MUSIC

Indie songwriting winds through the electronic sound she came from, built around forward motion, taking stock without ever standing still. Alongside the announcement comes new single Lucky (Hymn), a cinematic anthem built from small gestures, the crease of an eye, the corner of a smile, layered with choral echoes and piercing violin. The video, co-directed with Austen Taylor Pease, plays out in one unbroken take, moving between two characters, "Alyse" and "Kay," both tied up in a kitchen as danger closes in — another chapter in Shygirl's growing cinematic universe.

Written at a turning point, fresh off her debut Nymph and newly in love, Swallow! carries an almost devotional intensity, warm and glowing, sweeping in scope but never losing its focus. Karma Kid leaned into the bigger, bolder moments, while Casey MQ shaped the quieter ones, together proving Shygirl didn't have to abandon her electronic roots to grow into something new.

She previewed the album at Draaimolen festival in the Netherlands on September 4th, with shows in Italy, Iceland, and Spain to follow.