Hollie Cook - Shy Girl Hollie Cook

Woven with tight grooves, beautiful vocals and catchy melodies, 'Shy Girl' sees reggae’s orator of love return to Mr Bongo for the release of her fifth studio album, almost 15 years since her debut was released via the esteemed label. A sun-drenched exploration of love in all its guises, these 12 luscious, analogue reggae compositions are the culmination of her soft-hued and instantly recognisable “tropical pop” sound.

Put together across three years and four cities - from LA and NYC, to Vejer de la Frontera in Spain and Cook's hometown London - 'Shy Girl' was written with long- time collaborators, The General Roots Band, and features a contribution from legendary dub MC, Horseman, who lends his voice to the album's first single, 'Night Night'. 

The album opens with the title track, 'Shy Girl', a buoyant and elastic slice of lovers rock that was written in a moment of spontaneous intuition, and bubbles with a charisma and positivity that Cook radiates. "I'm not a natural show-off," Cook explains. "The Shy Girl theme is me. It's just about being my most vulnerable self and being as true to the music that I Iove as possible." It is this honesty which shines throughout, from the chugging deep dub of 'Frontline', complete with raking electric guitar lines, to the bittersweet roots ballad, 'We Share Love', which closes out the album.

Enamoured with the music of Janet Kay and Phyllis Dillon, 'Shy Girl' represents a homecoming and a coming-of-age for Hollie Cook, distilling and refining a shimmering reggae sound that will capture your heart, as it first captured hers.

For Fans Of: Althea & Donna / Janet Kay / Phyllis Dillon / The Shangri-Las / Dennis Bovell / Augustus Pablo