I Am Only A Man
While living in Portland, the unofficial American home of counterculture, Daniel Vidmar made his big splash in 2013. How so? In countering the counterculture of course. While his Portland contemporaries rose to fame on the back of a very particular type of sound – bands like The Decemberists, Blitzen Trapper, The Dandy Warhols, She & Him, Starfucker, Ages & Ages, Langhorne Slim, and The Shins – Vidmar took to his bedroom and set out to break the trend. Under the stage name of Shy Girls, he has crafted an alternative R&B sound that remains a novelty, despite the oversaturated landscape of today.
Shy Girls continued to gain momentum after the Timeshare – EP release, touring with Haim and Little Dragon, while also appearing on one of the biggest albums from 2014, Odesza’s In Return. Following another summer of touring and festival appearances, Vidmar released the 4WZ mixtape in early 2015. Although this was the last new material we would see for many months, the staying power of Odesza’s album along with a few remixes by Saux and Karl Kling were able to keep Shy Girls from completely falling out of favor.
Following a lengthy hiatus, Shy Girls is back on the scene, releasing his first new song in a year, “I Am Only A Man”. This track – which is the initial showing from an unnamed future EP – is without question the smoothest, most soulful song that has found my soundcloud feed in months. From the slow, hymnal opening to the reverbed, guitar-riffing conclusion, the song is a rollercoaster of emotion with subtle twists and turns throughout. The delicate hook of “I Am Only A Man” is echoed twice through the track, highlighting the particular skillset that assisted in Vidmar’s rise – his ability to intertwine and bring out the best of his music with a dynamic vocal range.
Although Shy Girls is not currently scheduled to tour this summer, hopefully listeners can expect more new music and a release date for his newest project. Listeners can find I Am Only A Man on Soundcloud, Apple Music, or Spotify.
