After releasing several albums, and evolving increasingly from folk, to folk-pop, Gabrielle Papillon’s Shout is a triumph that finds her landing squarely in the alt-pop realm, with not a banjo or acoustic guitar in sight. Co-writing for others allowed her to write differently for herself. Shout starts with the inner rumblings of the mind of an anxious person, someone who struggles with crowds and big groups of people, someone who craves solitude but does not really want to be left alone too long. It becomes the burst of energy and the surge of feeling that comes from the heart’s willingness to fight to be understood, to be less alone. Shout is propelled by equal parts synth, big pianos, and anger, exploding in thoughtful, danceable art-pop anthems of uprising, hope, and a delirious celebration of self.
Here’s to the ones who are itching to bust out of their shells, and the boxes other people have built for them. This is for the awkward dancers, and the crowd-averse. For everyone who ever does anything brave even when it is hard.
