Miss Anthropocene | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 21, 2020 | |||
Recorded | 2017 [1] –2019 [2] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:40 | |||
Label | 4AD | |||
Producer | ||||
Grimes chronology | ||||
| ||||
Revised cover | ||||
Singles from Miss Anthropocene | ||||
|
Miss Anthropocene is the fifth studio album by Canadian musician Grimes. It was released on February 21,2020,through 4AD. It marked her first album in over four years,after the release of Art Angels in 2015. [3] The album was officially announced on March 19,2019. [4] [5] The name of the album is a pun on the feminine title "Miss",and the words "misanthrope" and "Anthropocene", [6] a neologism popularised by Paul J. Crutzen in 2000 that was proposed to denote the current geological age the Earth is in. [7] [8] The album is a loose concept album about an "anthropomorphic goddess of climate change" inspired by Roman mythology [9] and villainy. [10] Miss Anthropocene is Grimes' final album on record label 4AD,to which she has been signed since 2012. [11] The album is darker in style than Art Angels,containing inspiration from the sounds of industrial music.
On December 16,2017,Grimes responded to fan on Twitter that she had "played [her] label new music",indicating that something would be released soon. [9] Among marked disagreements with her record label 4AD, [11] [12] Grimes later announced that she had hoped to release a new album in 2018. [13] On February 24,2018,Grimes revealed that she was in the process of recording two albums [11] to follow up her 2015 album Art Angels . In May 2018,some working titles were shared via her Instagram story. [14] In June 2018,Grimes was featured in Apple's Behind the Mac advertisement campaign in which a snippet of a song titled "That's What the Drugs Are For" was featured. [15]
The album's title was announced on March 19,2019. [4] Grimes explained that the album would be a concept album about an "anthropomorphic goddess of climate change" in which "each song will be a different embodiment of human extinction". [4] Grimes explained that she "love[s] godly personifications of abstract/horrific concepts",pointing to the Roman god of war Mars as an inspiration;and that by making a personification of climate change she hoped that it would "maybe ... be a bit easier to look at" and not be "just abstract doom". [9] In an interview with The Wall Street Journal ,Grimes further explained that "people don't care about it [climate change],because we're being guilted." Grimes stated that she wanted "to make climate change fun" and "make a reason to look at it". [16]
Miss Anthropocene's darker themes were also inspired by Grimes' reputation during the album's creation. Grimes elaborated in her interview with Crack Magazine that she had been made out to be a villain in the media due to large publications misrepresenting things she had said and the media's criticism of her relationship with Elon Musk,claiming that publications The New Yorker , The New York Times , Vice ,and The Guardian had spread falsehoods about her,deriding that "we really do live in a post-truth society". Grimes stated that if she was going to be "stuck being a villain" then she wanted "to pursue villainy artistically",saying that it is "a really fun idea" to her,naming characters the Joker and Thanos as inspirations. [10]
In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music's Beats 1 radio station,Grimes revealed that Miss Anthropocene had actually been finished for some time and she was already working on her next album,which would be a "techno-pop album" where she "works with [her] favourite producers". Grimes mentioned that despite it being her favourite album,she had already "moved on" from the dark themes of Miss Anthropocene,which were caused by "a fair number of things that were going on at the time [of its creation]." She also stated that the song "Violence" was intended for the unnamed sixth album but was included on Miss Anthropocene because the track "feels good". [17] In this interview Grimes also stated that one of the reasons for the album's delayed release was the death of her former manager Lauren Valencia from cancer in July 2019,an event which impacted Grimes greatly. [18]
On October 15,2019,Grimes revealed via a reply to a fan on Instagram that physical copies of Miss Anthropocene were in the process of being pressed. [19] Miss Anthropocene was officially released on February 21,2020. [20]
Musically,Miss Anthropocene has been described as industrial, [21] [22] [23] pop, [22] [24] synth-pop, [25] [26] dream pop, [27] electropop, [28] and darkwave. [21] In contrast to her previous album, Art Angels ,this album features a darker sound. [20] AllMusic described the album as a "murky mix of ethereal,nu-metal,and industrial-inspired sounds". [20] In the single "So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth" she experimented with AI-generated music through the NSynth neural synthesizer. [10]
The original artwork features a drawing by Grimes herself inside a fictional computer program. Design was handled by Gmunk and Ryder Ripps. [29] Grimes explained that she was inspired by her experience making music and visual art using programs such as Photoshop,Manga Studio,and Adobe Premiere Pro;this made her want to "create a fictional universe where there's like all these new gods,and if the new gods were building the simulation that we live in,[...] this is the program that the gods use." [30]
The updated artwork is a painting by Rupid Leejm. Grimes stated that it was the artwork she originally wanted to use,but that she was discouraged from doing so after she "polled a bunch of [people]". [29] [31]
Originally billed to be the first single from the album, [32] [33] [34] [35] "We Appreciate Power",featuring American singer Hana,was released on November 29,2018. [32] [33] [34] [35] The track was described as an industrial rock track [35] with lyrics revolving around themes of transhumanism and artificial intelligence. [36] [37] It was also noted that Grimes had been in a relationship with technology entrepreneur Elon Musk since 2018, [38] leading to speculation that the song was inspired by him and his work. [39] [40] On November 15,2019,it was revealed the track would only be included on the digital deluxe edition and Japanese CD release of the album.
In an Instagram post published on August 13,2019,Grimes announced the first official single from Miss Anthropocene would be released on September 13,2019. [41] This post was deleted shortly afterwards. On September 3,2019,Grimes deleted all of her Instagram posts then announced in a new post that a song would be released on September 5. [42] [43] The song,originally speculated to be titled "A New Way to Die" due to the caption of her Instagram post,was clarified later to actually be called "Violence". The track features American DJ i_o. [44] Dazed praised the track's "thumping kickdrum and synth arp bassline". [45] During the music video's premiere on YouTube,Grimes announced that she would be releasing two songs,titled "So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth" and "4ÆM",as the album's next two singles although no release dates were given. [46] [47]
The second official single from Miss Anthropocene,"So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth",was announced via Instagram on November 11,2019,and released on November 15,2019. [48] [49] The cover art and track listing for Miss Anthropocene were also unveiled on November 15. The track received positive reviews from critics who commented on the track's slower and darker sound compared to the previous single "Violence",with NME stating that it felt like a "slow-motion fall through the cosmos",noting the track's "thick layers of bass" and "Grimes' dangling voice". [50] Pitchfork labelled the track a "six-minute downtempo odyssey" with "forceful theatrics". [51]
The third single from the album,"My Name Is Dark" —originally titled "That's What The Drugs Are For" —was released on November 29,2019. [52] The track's nu-metal sound was praised by many publications,with Stereogum calling it a "dark and gritty electro-rocker" with a "menacing guitar riff". [53]
On December 13,2019,Grimes premiered the fourth single from Miss Anthropocene,"4ÆM",at The Game Awards 2019 during the segment dedicated to the soundtrack of the video game Cyberpunk 2077 . [54] [55] [56] [57] Grimes also announced that she is the voice actor for a character in the game named Lizzy Wizzy. [54] [55] [56] [57] "4ÆM" samples the song "Deewani Mastani" from the Bollywood film Bajirao Mastani [58] and was described by Grimes as being a "cyberpunk interpretation" of the film. NME named the track "suitably futuristic" [57] while other reviewers praised the song's drum and bass beat and ethereal vocals,noting similarities to songs from Grimes' 2010 album Halfaxa . [59] [60]
The fifth single from the album,"Delete Forever",was released on February 12,2020. The song was inspired by Grimes losing six of her friends to heroin overdoses and the numbness Grimes felt following their deaths. [61] It was written on the same night that emo rap artist Lil Peep accidentally died after overdosing on a fake Xanax pill that was laced with fentanyl. [62] [63]
Several lyric videos were released for various songs from Miss Anthropocene. A lyric video for "We Appreciate Power" was released on November 29,2018. [32] [33] [34] [35] It features both Grimes and Hana and was directed by the former alongside her brother Mac Boucher. [34] Another lyric video for the album's third single "My Name Is Dark" followed on December 3,2019. [64] Grimes described it as "just a cute vibe". [65] On February 27,2020,Grimes released two lyric videos for the track "Idoru". Dubbed "Slightly Longer Version" and "Slightly Shorter Version",they correspond to the "Art Mix" and "Algorithm Mix" versions of the song,respectively. Grimes released the videos after noticing that the track was a fan favorite. [66] A "Darkseid" lyric video and a "My Name Is Dark" video featuring the "Art Mix" and a Russian lyrics translation were released on May 22,2020.
Two music videos were released. The video for the lead single "Violence" was released on September 5,2019,and was directed by Grimes. [67] Its acclaimed choreography,described by Variety as "mock pistol-firing and swordplay", [68] is inspired by TikTok user Cindy. [69] Another video was released for the fifth single "Delete Forever" on February 12,2020. [62] It was directed by Grimes,Mac Boucher,and Neil Hansen,and depicts "a tyrant's lament as her empire crumbles". [62]
A visualizer for the album's second single "So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth" was uploaded on November 15,2019. [70] On April 1,2020,Grimes uploaded a green screen video for the track "You'll Miss Me When I'm Not Around" to her YouTube channel as well as an archive featuring the raw audio and video files to WeTransfer and invited her fans to remix the song and the video using the hashtag #GrimesArtKit. The footage was originally shot so that her artistic team could create visuals for the album, [71] but she cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason she elected to involve her fans,in case they are "bored and wanna learn new things" while on lockdown. [72] Billboard speculated that this may also relate to Grimes' roots in the DIY scene. [73]
On January 1,2021,Grimes released Miss Anthropocene:Rave Edition,a remix album featuring new versions of the albums' songs by artists including BloodPop,Channel Tres,Richie Hawtin,and Modeselektor,as well as two remixes from her Cyberpunk 2077 Apple Music DJ mix. [74]
Miss Anthropocene debuted at number 1 on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and at number 32 on the Billboard 200 ,with 19,000 equivalent album units,according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. [75] It also debuted at No. 10 on the Official UK Albums chart,becoming her first top 10 album in the United Kingdom. [76]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.5/10 [77] |
Metacritic | 79/100 [78] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [20] |
Consequence of Sound | B+ [79] |
DIY | [80] |
The Guardian | [81] |
The Independent | [82] |
The Irish Times | [83] |
NME | [84] |
Pitchfork | 8.2/10 [85] |
Rolling Stone | [86] |
Sputnikmusic | [87] |
Miss Anthropocene received positive reviews from music critics upon its release. On review aggregator website Metacritic,which assigns media a normalized score out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream publications,the album has a score of 79 based on 27 critic reviews,which indicates "generally favorable reviews". [78]
Reviewing Miss Anthropocene for The Independent ,Adam White deemed it a "triumph" and praised the wide range of sounds explored on the album,saying that it "operates much like a greatest hits record". He directed praise to the album's "transcendent" slower songs,particularly "So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth" and "You'll Miss Me When I'm Not Around". [82] Anupa Mistry of Pitchfork wrote that the album successfully builds upon "Grimes' long-standing interest in rave nostalgia and alluring pop music from around the world",despite expressing reservations about its "rendering [of] climate crisis as dystopian aesthetic". [85] NME journalist Rhian Daly described the climate change concept as "fragmented ... rather than being a unifying thing to tie every song neatly together",while praising Miss Anthropocene's mix of sounds,pointing to the "eerie" "New Gods" and "intergalactic rave-pop" of "Violence" as highlights. [84] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian found it to be an effective commentary on the "toxicity of modern celebrity" as opposed to climate change,adding that "on those terms,Miss Anthropocene works remarkably well:for all the sci-fi theorising,the emotions at its centre feel prosaic,realistic and affecting". [81] AllMusic critic Heather Phares concluded that despite being less "vivid" than her earlier work,the album is "often fascinating and defies expectations in ways that still fit her always thought-provoking aesthetic". [20]
Claire Shaffer of Rolling Stone commended Grimes' intentions but found that "what the album actually has to say about climate change is often lost under the admittedly beautiful,meticulously composed wreckage." [86] Grant Sharples of Consequence of Sound called the album "her darkest,most ambitious project yet". [79] Lisa Wright of DIY also described the album as Grimes' darkest album. [80] Paste 's Max Freedman was more critical and wrote that Miss Anthropocene "veers on incoherent" due to its lack of "subtle,effective metaphors and narratives". [88] Sputnikmusic stated that "Miss Anthropocene takes everything about Grimes the musician...and concisely packages it into her most penetrating record yet." [87] Louise Bruton The Irish Times described the album as a "frightening look at the many shades of human extinction in beautiful washes of nu-metal and cold electronica." [83] In 2021,Pitchfork included the album in their "Rescored" list,adjusting its original score of 8.2 to a 6.9,with Madison Bloom claiming that Grimes "sounds like a carbon copy of herself" on it. [89]
Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Billboard | Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2020 –Mid-Year | — | |
Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 21 | [91] | |
Consequence | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | 46 | |
Top 25 Albums of 2020 –Mid-Year | 25 | ||
Crack Magazine | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | 14 | |
Exclaim! | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | 14 | |
Top 33 Albums of 2020 –Mid-Year | 9 | ||
Gorilla vs. Bear | Gorilla vs. Bear's Best Albums of 2020 –Mid-Year | 3 | |
Top 50 Albums of 2020 | 9 | ||
Nothing but Hope and Passion | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | 28 | |
Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 24 | |
Slant | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 2 | |
Spin | Spin's 30 Best Albums of 2020 –Mid-Year | — | |
Stereogum | Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 –Mid-Year | 32 | |
Time | Top 10 Albums of 2020 | 9 |
Credits adapted from Tidal. [104]
All tracks are written by Grimes, except where noted. All tracks are produced by Grimes, except "Violence" and its remixes are produced by Grimes and Garrett Lockhart, "New Gods" is produced by Grimes and Dan Carey, and "We Appreciate Power" and its remix are produced by Grimes, Chris Greatti and Hana
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth" (art mix) | 6:08 | |
2. | "Darkseid" (with 潘PAN) |
| 3:44 |
3. | "Delete Forever" | 3:57 | |
4. | "Violence" (with I_o) |
| 3:40 |
5. | "4ÆM" |
| 4:30 |
6. | "New Gods" | 3:15 | |
7. | "My Name Is Dark" (art mix) | 5:56 | |
8. | "You'll Miss Me When I'm Not Around" | 2:41 | |
9. | "Before the Fever" | 3:37 | |
10. | "Idoru (Art Mix)" | 7:12 | |
Total length: | 44:40 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "We Appreciate Power" (featuring Hana) |
| 5:35 |
Total length: | 50:15 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth" (algorithm mix) | 3:52 | |
13. | "Violence" (with I_o) (club mix) |
| 4:12 |
14. | "My Name Is Dark" (algorithm mix) | 4:03 | |
15. | "Idoru" (algorithm mix) | 4:46 | |
Total length: | 67:08 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
16. | "We Appreciate Power" (algorithm mix) |
| 3:45 |
Total length: | 70:53 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth" (ANNA remix) | 6:46 | |
2. | "Darkseid" (Richie Hawtin remix) (featuring 潘PAN) |
| 10:37 |
3. | "Delete Forever" (Channel Tres remix) | 3:01 | |
4. | "Violence" (REZZ remix) (featuring I_o) |
| 3:15 |
5. | "4ÆM" |
| 4:31 |
6. | "New Gods" (Tale of Us & Âme remix) | 7:30 | |
7. | "My Name Is Dark" (Julien Bracht remix) | 10:23 | |
8. | "You'll Miss Me When I'm Not Around" (Things You Say remix) | 5:11 | |
9. | "Before the Fever" | 3:37 | |
10. | "Idoru" (Modeselektor remix) | 6:06 | |
11. | "We Appreciate Power" (BloodPop remix) |
| 6:11 |
Total length: | 67:08 |
Notes
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [117] | 10 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [118] | 31 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [119] | 36 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [120] | 116 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [121] | 31 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [122] | 68 |
French Albums (SNEP) [123] | 126 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [124] | 56 |
Irish Albums (OCC) [125] | 20 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [126] | 79 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [127] | 28 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [128] | 4 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [129] | 24 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [130] | 25 |
UK Albums (OCC) [131] | 10 |
US Billboard 200 [132] | 32 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [133] | 3 |
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) [134] | 1 |
Chart (2020) | Position |
---|---|
US Top Current Album Sales [135] | 187 |
Anne Erin Clark, known professionally as St. Vincent, is an American musician and singer. Her guitar playing has been praised for its melodic style and use of distortion, and she has been listed among the best guitarists of the 21st century by multiple publications. Rolling Stone named Clark the 26th-greatest guitarist of all time in 2023.
Santi White, known professionally as Santigold, is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut studio album, Santogold (2008), received widespread critical acclaim for its cross-genre combining dub, new wave, and hip-hop. The album's second single "L.E.S. Artistes", reached the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart.
Claire Elise Boucher, known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elaborate and sometimes have fantasy themes. She has released five studio albums.
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer and songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent references to pop culture and 1950s–1970s Americana. Her vintage Hollywood glamour aesthetic is showcased in her music videos. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, two Billboard Women in Music awards and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for eleven Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century". In 2023, Rolling Stone placed Del Rey on their list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time", while their sister publication Rolling Stone UK named her as "The Greatest American Songwriter of the 21st century".
Visions is the third studio album by Canadian musician Grimes. It was released on February 21, 2012, through 4AD. Her first since signing with 4AD, the album was recorded entirely on Apple's GarageBand software in Grimes' apartment over a three-week period. It was mixed by Grimes and her manager, Sebastian Cowan, at their La Brique Studio Space in Montreal. Visions was streamed on the NPR website a week before it was released in the United States.
CHVRCHES are a Scottish synth-pop band from Glasgow, formed in September 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and, unofficially since 2018, Jonny Scott. Mostly deriving from the synth-pop genre, CHVRCHES also incorporate indietronica, indie pop, and electronic dance into their sound.
"Oblivion" is a song by Canadian musician Grimes from her third studio album, Visions (2012). It was released as a promotional single in 2012 by 4AD.
Karly Marina Loaiza, known professionally as Kali Uchis, is an American singer and songwriter. After releasing her debut mixtape Drunken Babble (2012), she gained recognition for her debut extended play, Por Vida (2015). She signed with Virgin EMI Records to release her debut studio album Isolation (2018), which peaked at number 34 on the Billboard 200 and saw widespread acclaim. She then signed with Interscope Records to release her second studio album and first Spanish-language project, Sin Miedo (2020). It spawned the single "Telepatía", which first gained virality on TikTok and marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 25, also receiving double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her third studio album, Red Moon in Venus (2023) peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, while her fourth album and second Spanish-language project, Orquídeas (2024), peaked at number two.
Canadian singer and songwriter Grimes has released five studio albums, one remix album, one DJ mix, three extended plays (EPs), sixteen singles, four promotional singles and twenty-two music videos. Born and raised in Vancouver, Grimes began recording experimental music while attending McGill University in Montréal, where she became involved with the underground music scene.
Art Angels is the fourth studio album by Canadian musician Grimes, pseudonym of Claire Elise Boucher. It was digitally released on November 6, 2015, through 4AD, and in physical formats on December 11. Boucher began planning the record in 2013 as the follow-up to her third studio album, Visions; however, for unknown reasons, she scrapped most of the material from these sessions and began a new set of recordings in 2014. The track "Realiti", which came from the earlier recordings, was released as a demo in early 2015.
Phoebe Lucille Bridgers is an American singer-songwriter. Her indie folk music typically centers around acoustic guitar and electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has received four Grammy Awards from eleven nominations.
Moriah Rose Pereira, better known as Poppy and formerly as That Poppy, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and YouTuber. She first earned recognition for surreal performance art videos on YouTube, in which she played an uncanny valley–like android commenting on and satirizing internet culture and modern society. She has become more widely known for being highly experimental and versatile with her artistry and music.
Claire Elizabeth Cottrill, known professionally as Clairo, is an American singer-songwriter born in Georgia and raised in Massachusetts. She began posting music on the internet at age 13.
"We Appreciate Power" is a song by Canadian musician Grimes, featuring American musician Hana. It was released on November 29, 2018, billed as the lead single from her fifth studio album Miss Anthropocene, however it is only available on the Japanese and deluxe releases. The song was written and produced by Grimes, Poppy (originally), Hana and Chris Greatti.
Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus, known professionally as Beabadoobee, is a British singer-songwriter, and guitarist. From 2018 to 2021, she released five extended plays (EPs) under the independent label Dirty Hit: Lice (2018), Patched Up (2018), Loveworm (2019), Space Cadet (2019) and Our Extended Play (2021). Her debut studio album Fake It Flowers was released in October 2020, and received critical acclaim. Her second studio album, Beatopia, was released on 15 July 2022, which spawned the hit "The Perfect Pair." Her third studio album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, was released on 9 August 2024; it became her first album to peak atop the UK Albums Chart.
"Violence" is a song by Canadian musician Grimes and American DJ i_o. It was released on September 5, 2019, as the lead single from her fifth studio album Miss Anthropocene.
"Delete Forever" is a single recorded by Canadian musician Grimes. It was released on February 12, 2020, under the label 4AD as the fifth and final single off of her fifth studio album, Miss Anthropocene. The song is a folk, Britpop, and dance composition.
Ashton Nicole Casey, known professionally as Ashnikko, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Her 2019 single "Stupid" featuring Yung Baby Tate gained viral popularity on the video-sharing platform TikTok and was certified platinum in the United States and Canada. Ashnikko's debut mixtape, Demidevil, was released in January 2021, and spawned the singles "Daisy" and "Slumber Party". Her studio album, Weedkiller, came in 2023.
Garrett Falls Lockhart, known professionally by his stage name i_o, was an American techno DJ and record producer.
Blane Muise, better known by her stage name Shygirl, is an English singer, DJ, rapper, songwriter and co-head/founder of record label and collective Nuxxe. Shygirl's music incorporates elements of dance music, hip-hop, experimental pop, grime and deconstructed club. She has also been associated with the hyperpop music scene. Shygirl rose to prominence after working with close collaborator and friend Sega Bodega, as well as other well-known experimental producers Arca and Sophie, and gaining attention from the likes of Rihanna, who has used various Nuxxe tracks for her Fenty Beauty commercials and fashion shows. Shygirl has released various singles since 2016, and three EPs titled Cruel Practice, Alias and Club Shy. Her debut studio album Nymph was released on 30 September 2022 to widespread acclaim from music critics.