Sally Shapiro: The essential late night companion.
For those unfamiliar, the Swedish-based (thus, already perfect) electronic duo has been pumping out lush, midnight drive-friendly Italo disco tunes for years now, including their much-buzzed about 2007 debut Disco Romance and 2009’s icy My Guilty Pleasure. This year, the duo returns with Somewhere Else, due out in February.
The first song from the upcoming collection, “What Can I Do,” was actually released back in November, but it went completely under my radar (on my ray-duh) up until now. Then again, Sally Shapiro’s not exactly Gaga or Rihanna in terms of self-promotion: She’s actually notoriously shy, has yet to perform a live show, and she doesn’t let her producer Johan Agebjörn into the studio while recording vocals–which only adds to the vaguely mysterious touch of their music.
According to the group’s label, the new album sees the duo broadening their horizons and opening up to new collaborators, including their very amazing 2010 track with Anoraak, “Don’t Be Afraid.”
“Starman,” the latest release from the record, is yet another example of their new collaborative efforts, this time with Canadian electro-pop duo, Electric Youth.(Remember the incredible “A Real Hero” off of the Drive soundtrack? Yep, that’s them.) The track, aas bright and twinkly as the rest of the Sally Shapiro catalog, benefits from a bit of a harder pulse, forcing Shapiro to get out there and move on the dance floor. It’s a good thing.
And as for the album’s title? “The title describes the recurrent theme in the music and my life, to somehow never be satisfied with what you have, or where you are – to always wish you were somewhere else,” the frontwoman explains. Too real, Sally. Too real.
The full tracklisting for Somewhere Else is below. All of the awards in the world go to Shapiro for naming one of her songs “This City’s Local Italo Disco DJ Has a Crush On Me,” which is sure to be my new favorite.
Amazing overload.
01 Prescript
02 I Dream With an Angel Tonight
03 All My Life
04 This City’s Local Italo Disco DJ Has a Crush On Me
05 What Can I Do
06 If It Doesn’t Rain
07 Sundown
08 Starman (ft. Electric Youth)
09 Lives Together
10 Don’t Be Afraid (ft. Anoraak)
11 Architectured Love (ft. Le Prix)
12 Postscript
For a free download of “Starman (feat. Electric Youth),” check out the official site.
Somewhere Else will be released on February 26. (iTunes)