The Singles Jukebox

Pop, to two decimal places.

Shamir – On the Regular

Bouncy!


[Video][Website]
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Anthony Easton: So bouncy, with an excellent electronic stickiness, and Shamir has one of the smartest, most deliberately gorgeous flows I have heard of late. How it ends with a move between speaking and singing is delightful. Excellent tension between musical emotion and lyrics as well. 
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Micha Cavaseno: The more fitting descriptor of ‘average’ can work wonders for this middling “212”-progeny.
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Alfred Soto: Cowbell and kickdrum. Synths and whistles. Ratchet-ass goons and Fisher Price. Shamir loves words, sounds, and the sound of his voice. He needs better words though.
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Ashley Ellerson: In the first verse, Shamir drops the line “Guess I’m never-ending, you could call me pi.” Maybe only math geeks appreciate that reference, but “On the Regular” becomes more exciting after he says that. Yeah, Shamir is “young”, but he’s already spitting lines and rhymes better than people twice his age, and no doubt this song is catchy enough to get a party started. If you aren’t telling people “Don’t try me, I’m not a free sample” when they’re testing your patience, then you’ve missed a golden opportunity.
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Scott Mildenhall: Shamir’s complete composure makes up for the weakness of some of his lyrics. He places all the meaning into them with the barest of inflections, immovable while everything else dances around him, hypnotised. Being the centre of attention is often worth more when it comes without grand gestures.
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Brad Shoup: “Foul ball free throw” was the phrase that got me. He’s not afraid to be adorable, clearly; the pitchdown at the end plays up its own pointlessness. The house backing is exactly the sort of peppy facepulling that induces eyerolls when it washes up on American soil. I understand the impulse to swaddle, I really do, but something irregular seems more in order.
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Josh Winters: A ruthless love-me-or-hate-me statement with enough bounce to ricochet off the walls and hit you smack dab in the face.
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