The upbeat single will appear on the musician’s forthcoming LP, Homo Anxietatem
Shamir has dropped a new single, “The Beginning,” along with a self-directed music video for the track. Shot in the musician’s hometown of Philadelphia, the clip features members of the bands Friendship and Ladifa, who are signed to Shamir’s Accidental Popstar Records.
The video was filmed in Bartram’s Garden and sees Shamir reflecting on getting support from your friends after a romantic relationship comes to an end with the lyrics “We’re so caught up on having a happy ending/ We forgot the beginning.” The song also invokes Cher’s 1989 hit “If I Could Turn Back Time.”
“‘The Beginning’ is a song I wrote when I was 14 years old and had never experienced love, yet I was already inundated by all the typical tropes,” Shamir explained in a statement. “Even back then I realized a happy ending was contingent on a healthy beginning. The video represents the healing power of being around friends after a breakup.”
“The Beginning” comes off Shamir’s forthcoming ninth album, Homo Anxietatem, out Aug. 18 via Kill Rock Stars. The musician previously unveiled several tracks from the LP, including “Oversized Sweater,” “Our Song,” and “Crime,” which was featured on HBO’s Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York. The album, a follow-up to 2022’s Heterosexuality, was produced by Hoost.
To support the album, Shamir will perform at Knitting Factory at Baker Falls in New York City on Aug. 18. The artist will hit the road in October for a run in the U.K. and Europe, with stops in Paris, Dublin, Manchester, and Glasgow.
