It’s a while since we’ve heard any new music from the exuberantly talented Shamir Bailey, but happily, the wait is over — he’s just released a new track, which is entitled “Tryna Survive” and comes as part of an extended Ray-Ban commercial/short film thingamajig.
The song is more pop/rock-oriented than anything on Shamir’s debut Ratchet — it’s a breezy, infectious piece of indie pop, the sort of thing that lodges itself in your head immediately. (With slightly less glossy production, and without Shamir’s distinctive vocals, it could just as easily come from someone like, say, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding.) While it’s unclear whether this song will feature on a new Shamir album — if it was written exclusively for Ray-Ban, the answer is “probably not” — it seems to suggest any such album will involve move away from the electronic sound of Ratchet. In any case, listen to the full song here: