Shura - forevher

[Jark]

this wonderful woman is FINALLY back



and it's amazing. I hope she has another album as stunning as Nothing's Real up her sleeve, that was a highlight of the decade.

 

[ameraal]

it's lovely. shura is lovely. more please. for anyone without rubbish old spotify:

 

[FetchFugly]

That's really gorgeous. That kind of smooth R&B suits her, but while the jazzy bits work here I don't think I want her to go any further in that direction.

 

[Jark]

YASSSS

 

[Mats]

perfect venue for her here

 

[Jark]

second album forevher is out August 16 - here's the 2nd single (it's very janet) and tracklist



01. that's me, just a sweet melody (intro)
02. side effects
03. religion (u can lay your hands on me)
04. the stage
05. BKLYNLDN
06. tommy
07. princess leia
08. flyin'
09. forever
10. control
11. skyline, be mine

a very noticeable swerve in direction this time. let's see...

 

[ameraal]

i swear i saw the wonderful video for religion posted already but i guess not.

well here it is then *.*

 

[Jark]

the video has some nice shots but is quite a bit too on the nose for my tastes. the song uses religion as an allegory for love, lust and obsession so I don't think it needed to feature religious imagery in such literal fashion. that said, there aren't enough nuns in pop videos so that's nice.

I really like Religion - it's not quite BKLYNLDN but she is a superb writer and vocalist, and the new jazz/R&B elements of the production this time around are a nice switch-up. It's a shame she's getting no attention whatsoever, even from critics. Her streaming numbers are properly crap. I think she was away too long.

 

[ameraal]

i love that video. probably because it is so on the nose and as you said: nuns. where's lolly?

can't say i see her doing anything with this. i think she just got lucky last time with touch - i'm just not sure there's a proper market for (thoughtful, non-celebrity-driven) artists like her left.

 

[FetchFugly]

I like Religion very much, more than the previous song. The nuns dancing in the empty swimming pool is my favourite part of the video.

 

[Jark]

i think she just got lucky last time with touch - i'm just not sure there's a proper market for (thoughtful, non-celebrity-driven) artists like her left.

I'm not sure I agree with that completely - I think someone like King Princess is quite comparable and she's getting really quite a lot of streams for someone under the radar/sans an actual chart hit.

I just think hype is a very fleeting thing and most of these girls have it for one album at most if they don't actually cross over. people get bored and move on to the next obsession. so for Shura to be away 3 years, she's basically starting again from nothing.

 

[ameraal]

I'm not sure I agree with that completely - I think someone like King Princess is quite comparable and she's getting really quite a lot of streams for someone under the radar/sans an actual chart hit.

I just think hype is a very fleeting thing and most of these girls have it for one album at most if they don't actually cross over. people get bored and move on to the next obsession. so for Shura to be away 3 years, she's basically starting again from nothing.

king princess has that grainy/diy look that the kids seem to be into. whereas shura has a more unconventional look and i think her aesthetic, much as i think is absolutely perfect, is just not cool anymore. i dunno, maybe i'm just making this shit up.

 

[funky]

possibly my favourite pop artist this decade

 

[northernlad]

She dropped the third single yesterday afternoon. Hot 70s vibe.

 

[Jark]

not mad on that one at all. It's very Tame Impala but I'm not sure that's what I want from her. I'm actually a touch worried about the album - every song on the debut is a 9+ for me so I don't want to be disappointed but maybe it's inevitable

 

[ameraal]

it definitely sounds like she's moved on from the shimmering synths of the debut. sadly.

 

[FetchFugly]

it definitely sounds like she's moved on from the shimmering synths of the debut. sadly.

As much as I am pleased she seems to be living her best loved up lesbian life, in my book you need a very good reason to move on from shimmering synths. The new songs are all varying degrees of good but agree that it does seem this album might not live up to the first one.

 

[Jark]

forevher is finally out Friday. I'm very excited and also a bit nervous - I don't expect it to top Nothing's Real (how could it?) but I hope the whole thing will be as good as BKLYNLDN and religion.

Nothing's Real rate, just because:

09 Nothing's Real
08 What's It Gonna Be
11 Touch
10 Kidz 'N' Stuff
10 Indecision
09 What Happened To Us?
10 Tongue Tied
09 Make It Up
10 2Shy
11 White Light

not even looning, it just really is that great.

 

[Jark]

here we go



I'll digest this for a bit and return with some thoughts later

 

[northernlad]

Skyline, Be Mine just soars.
Control, Forever, and Side Effects are varying degrees of nice as well.
The middle section was a chore. I feel like Tommy was meant to be the emotional centrepoint of the album, but it largely washed over me.
On the whole I love how queer and romantic this is, but it's also very monotonous. It's good, but not magical.

 

[Christian]

My first plays have been disappointing. Nothing has clicked and the only thing it brings to mind is those dancing nuns from Glastonbury

I love the preceding album but life's too short for another try of this one.

 

[Jark]

how is this settling in for people? I'm still not huge on the very sedate middle section but I'm wildly obsessed with Side Effects - what an absolute triumph of a song. like Religion, it's just joy bottled.

10 Side Effects
10 Religion
08 The Stage
11 Bklynldn
08 Tommy
06 Princess Leia
07 Flyin'
08 Forever
09 Control
10 Skyline, Be Mine

Skyline is such a spiritual sequel to White Light, it's amazing. Any takers?

@POP! @monsta @ameraal @funky @COB @Alex @Slave @Christian @VoR

 

[monsta]

@Jark I’m finding it very much a MOOD PIECE and not really feeling it in the way I stanned Nothing’s Real. Religion is still fucking ace though.

I’m glad I held off buying gig tickets because I can’t help thinking it will be boring AF with this new album.

 

[Jark]

@funky Shura has been doing more remixes for other artists this year - this new one for Austra is such a breezy delight. some shimmering synths on this one @ameraal!

 

[funky]

She’s a fabulous producer to be fair

will have to listen to this later when I get home