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9.0
76183
9.0 |
The Music
Shamir’s instantly likeable debut proudly aims to show us a blinding good time
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9.0
76217
9.0 |
Spin
It’s an incredible album strewn with highlights obvious and sneaky, the rare debut that holds up the weight of its backstory
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9.0
76288
9.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
Ratchet is one of the most purely pleasurable records I’ve heard so far this year, and one of the strongest debuts in several years
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8.3
76249
8.3 |
Pretty Much Amazing
Its highs are high enough that its lows can be forgiven, or forgotten entirely. Ratchet consolidates Shamir's many talents: the sassy lyricist, the virtuosic tunesmith, the unperturbed diva
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8.3
76213
8.3 |
Pitchfork
What Ratchet’s 10 songs of self-discovery say without saying at all is that there’s liberation on the dancefloor
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8.0
76185
8.0 |
NME
Fresh, full of warmth, spontaneity and spark
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8.0
76186
8.0 |
The Irish Times
Bailey tells the story of his life and surroundings with style, substance and a whole lot of pizzazz
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8.0
76180
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
This is an album held together not by cotton candy quirks or the clang of cowbell, but by the inimitable Shamir being Shamir
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8.0
76221
8.0 |
DIY
One of the year’s most accomplished, left-field pop albums
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8.0
76225
8.0 |
The 405
Ratchet is instantly likeable and oh so infectious. A great pop album through and through, there's enough here to keep you dancing all through the summer
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8.0
76270
8.0 |
All Music
Ratchet is a fully realized, entertaining portrait of an artist who knows where he's from and where he's going
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8.0
76286
8.0 |
PopMatters
Ratchet proclaims two truths: ain’t nobody got time for “basic ratchet guys”, and everybody got time for Shamir Bailey
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8.0
76287
8.0 |
Slant Magazine
His winking in-jokes and one-liners might have gotten the Internet's attention, but Ratchet wins you over when it reveals that this smart-aleck's got a beating heart too
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8.0
76325
8.0 |
Spectrum Culture
Shamir effortlessly believes in himself in a way that marks him as far wiser than most on the pop scene today
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8.0
76327
8.0 |
NOW
He projects a charismatic mix of youthful playfulness, cheeky confidence and naked vulnerability that would seem wasted on fun dance pop except that he does it so perfectly
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8.0
76356
8.0 |
State
Despite being only 20 years old, Shamir has tapped into a vein of honesty with his songs, made all the more interesting by that voice
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8.0
76408
8.0 |
Q
Arresting debut from commanding pop talent. Print edition only
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7.0
77945
7.0 |
Under The Radar
A luminously cool engineering of synths and beats
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7.0
76181
7.0 |
FasterLouder
An interesting, eccentric collection of pop songs encompassing a grab bag of styles and emotion
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7.0
76184
7.0 |
Exclaim
A confident first album, demonstrating an extraordinary talent for mixing bangers with ballads
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6.7
76182
6.7 |
Consequence Of Sound
Admittedly, the party wouldn’t get as far off the ground without the help of GODMODE producer Nick Sylvester
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6.5
76471
6.5 |
Beardfood
Shamir sounds like a pop star already, but his debut is not substantial enough
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6.0
76203
6.0 |
The Observer
Bailey’s refusal to be pigeonholed artistically is admirable, but frustrating
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6.0
76292
6.0 |
Rolling Stone
Las Vegas newcomer Shamir works disco into a state of undress on his first full-length album
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6.0
76254
6.0 |
Loud And Quiet
He’s as vocal about his love for Vivian Girls and The Slits as he is about Prince or Larry Levan, and it’s fascinating to hear
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4.5
76179
4.5 |
Crack
The emotion feels tokenistic, cordoned off to the designated sad songs where crooning and slowed pace substitute the nuanced emotional investment glimpsed fleetingly in his earlier, more daring work
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