6/10

Earlier this year, Shamir made himself the poster-boy for music industry rebellion. After being dropped by his label after the release of his much-loved debut album 'Ratchet', he returned back in April to drop his follow-up full-length 'Hope'. An album that was entirely self-produced and released for free. It's totally stripped back sound and sense of disappoint in his personal situation led many to the conclusion that he was going off the grid as a fully independent artist, but he has found a new home for his third LP, yet the new sound seems to be more ingrained in him this time around.

While 'Ratchet' was a glossy, well-produced electro-pop album and 'Hope' a lo-fi acoustic release, 'Revelations' seems to sit somewhere in the middle. A more upbeat release, no doubt, but opting for a more basic sound. While it still maintains a lot of the emotion and feel of his previous release, you can tell that he seems to be working out the kinks of his new direction, mixing up the instrumentation and experimenting far more within the record's production.

It is still hard to tell whether Shamir has moved on from the upset he suffered in the last few years, but there are a lot of positive moments on this album. 'Revelations' may not have the same enthusiasm as his debut, but still makes for a relatively enjoyable listen.