BEST NEW MUSIC: WE’VE GOT EYES FOR SHAMIR’S COVER OF BILLIE EILISH’S “OCEAN EYES”

Our love affair with Shamir is the thing of legends. One of those will-they/won’t-they kind of things where Shamir keeps making amazing music and we keep covering it. And it’s like ‘when will they stop being so adorable together?’ And we’re like “never!” but we blush a little anyways because it’s embarrassing to be called out so publicly. You can go even back through old We Are: The Guard articles and follow along if you want; you’ll just see that with each song we fall more and more head over heels in fandom with this Las Vegas based singer-songwriter. We’re not the only ones though, of course. Shamir’s last five years of releases have received critical acclaim from just about every other music publication known to humankind (which we won’t bother naming because we’re your favorite place to read about new music, no?).

This is the voice of an angel, come down to save us all, we’ve said. 

Loving the way Shamir uses guitars now, we’ve written.

Can’t wait to hear everything he ever records, please inject it into our brains even after we die, we’ve exclaimed.

And yet here, now this perfect moment in time, we’ve been given a blessing: A cover, released on our very own label, from Shamir of one of goth-pop’s greatest voices: Billie Eilish.

And that’s going to be a big old DUH from us. 

SHAMIR - “OCEAN EYES”

Sure, Shamir absolutely slaughters this, but did you really expect anything less? We sure didn’t. But then again, true love does kind of leave you with rose-colored glasses. This cover of “Ocean Eyes” turns one of Eilish’s earliest singles from a moody chiller into something fully geared up and ready to destroy the already fragile grasp you had on your emotions. Shamir adds a fresh take on FINNEAS’ beat with a little guitar for good measure and the kind of inflection of emotion that Eilish wouldn’t dare dream of attempting, pulling this one to high points and high notes.

Shamir’s cover of “Ocean Eyes” is the true magic of an artist connecting with a track and reinventing it in their own style. If you’re a Billie Eilish fan, let this be your introduction to the genius that is Shamir. If you’re a Shamirhead (like us), let this be a reminder of why Billie Eilish  is the queen of dark pop.

From deep within the murky depths of the Los Angeles River emerged a creature: 50% raver, 50% comedian, 10% Robotcop. Kurt Kroeber doesn’t own a dog, operates Soundbleed (the world’s only dance party comedy talk show rave), and is down to party with you. Come up some time and say “Hey dude!” But definitely make sure to casually drop the secret Illuminati password.