Review: Shura - Nothing’s Real

SHURA
NOTHING’S REAL

Two years after her first single ‘Touch’ was released, Shura’s dreamy debut has finally arrived, and it’s most definitely worth the wait.

★★★★★

I first discovered Shura (aka Alexandra Lilah Denton) when I heard the song 2Shy playing on the radio, It was surprisingly the lyrics that caught my attention immediately, “We could be more than friends, maybe I’m just too shy”. A dreamy song about a teenagers awkward and shy behaviour around their crush, Wow! was my first thought, a song about love that I could relate to and I couldn’t wait to hear more from her.

However it would be a while to I finally did, but just over a year on from when I first heard 2Shy, Shura’s debut album is finally here.

Nothing’s Real is a rare type of album, for me it contains no filler tracks, it’s one that works brilliantly as a collection of outstanding singles but also an album which I can press play on Track 1 and be left immersed all the way till it’s climax nearly an hour later. Even rarer still, Shura herself has produced every song on the album as well as providing the majority of the writing and lyrics.

What I find so refreshing about Shura, Is that the subject of her songs are relatable, whereas superstars such as Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepsen sing of dreamlike fantasy and romance taken straight out of the cinema, Shura speaks of more common but less heard issues such as panic attacks and anxiety on the album’s title track ‘Nothing’s Real’ or unrequited love on ‘What’s It Gonna Be’.

Speaking of ‘What’s It Gonna Be’, It’s easily one of the best pop songs of the year, it’s hopeful lyrics are placed on top of a very upbeat, well produced track that is sure to leave you dancing, not to mention the accompanying video is fantastic.

Other highlights from the album include the heartbreaking ‘Kidz N Stuff’, The experimental lengthy closer of the album ‘White Light’ and the groovy electro-pop of Indecision. I’ve read many comparisons of Shura to various other artists such as Madonna, but I think she has a style and sound that is uniquely her own, this is down to her versatile voice which has a distinctive dreamlike quality, this is intertwined with solid beats and production laid out over the whole album.

It all results in a very promising debut from newcomer Shura and I really can’t wait to see what she has in store next…..