Sally Shapiro might be history's shyest dance diva. When the Swedish singer emerged alongside production partner Johan Agebjörn in the mid-'00s, she wouldn't perform live, reveal her real name, or even pose for photos. (Really, "Sally Shapiro" is the name of the duo of the still-unnamed singer, who goes by the Shapiro name, and Agebjörn.) That shyness was baked into the music, with Shapiro's wispy vocals and Agebjörn's pulsing Italo-disco synths merging to create something both homespun and mysterious. Despite that retiring nature, Shapiro has had a nice long run, and now she's ready to announce another album.
The 2016 single "If You Ever Wanna Change Your Mind" was supposed to be the final Sally Shapiro track, but Shapiro and Agebjörn changed their minds. They released the album Sad Cities three years ago, and now they've got plans to follow it with a new LP called Ready To Live A Lie. The duo's 2023 cover of the Pet Shop Boys' "Rent" is on the album. Opening track "The Other Days" is a bittersweet, murmuring synthpop jam that fits right in with everything else currently coming out on the Italians Do It Better label.
In a press release, Johan Agebjörn says, "We live in the era of lies. We deceive ourselves, our partners, and those around us. On social media, we paint pictures of perfect lives, only to be fed falsehoods in return—by algorithms, newsfeeds, and politicians." Sally Shapiro adds, "But perhaps, at times, we need these deceptions to get by. Maybe loneliness is somehow inescapable and we simply do our best to navigate life." Below, check out the Ready To Live A Lie tracklist and the grainy, nostalgic video for "The Other Days," which Agebjörn co-directed with Johnny Jewel.
TRACKLIST:
01 "The Other Days"
02 "Hard To Love"
03 "Rent"
04 "Purple Colored Sky"
05 "Happier Somewhere Else"
06 "Guarding Shell"
07 "Hospital"
08 "Did You Call Tonight"
09 "Oh Carrie"
10 "He's Not You"
11 "Rain"
Ready To Live A Lie is out 5/30 on Italians Do It Better.
