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Jun 08, 2023 By Kat Ramkumar Photography by Matthew James-Wilson

Indie pop singer and songwriter, Shamir, has announced the release of his ninth studio album, Homo Anxietatem and shared its debut single “Oversized Sweater.” Homo Anxietatem, which was recorded and produced by Hoost aka Justin Tailor (Rina Sawayama), is due out August 18 via Kill Rock Stars. Shamir has also shared a music video for “Oversized Sweater,” which was directed by himself and tour manager Felix Donate Perez. Watch the video below followed by the album’s tracklist and cover artwork.

Homo Anxietatem is the latin translation of “anxious man,” a phrase that Shamir embodied over the last few years. “The first quarter of 2020 before lockdown I felt a lot of anxiety. I was fresh out the psych ward and had quit smoking weed and cigarettes cold turkey,” Shamir says in a press release. “I spent the first couple months of 2020 knitting this huge baby blue sweater. It’s basically a wearable security blanket that I used to channel all my anxiety into.”

Shamir’s songwriting is loud and buoyant, displaying a full array of human emotions such as yearning, anger, and jubilancy, where in the end, he tethers them down in his own distinct style. Drawing inspiration from names such as Miss Nina Simone, Prince and Taylor Swift, Shamir’s music recaps his dances in the dark and leaps of faith in the light.

According to the press release, there is an actual confrontation with the devil in the album. “Not as sweet as I might seem,” Shamir confesses on “Crime.” “No interest in searching for meaning,” Shamir ends the appropriately titled “Calloused.” No matter the tribulations that Shamir faces throughout the journey of Homo Anxietatem, he makes it personable and real.

Shamir’s previous projects include his 2022 album Heterosexuality.

Read our interview with Shamir, originally featured in the digital version of Issue 67 of Under the Radar’s print magazine. Also check out our podcast interview with him.

Homo Anxietatem Tracklist:

1. Oversized Sweater
2. Wandering Through
3. Our Song
4. Appetizer
5. Calloused
6. Crime
7. The Beginning
8. Without You
9. Obsession
10. Words
11. The Devil Said The Blues Is All I’ll Know

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