Forevher

Description

Like the best second albums, forevher is as full of surprises as it is faithful to an artist still laying her innermost hopes and fears on the line. On her 2016 debut, Nothings Real, the half-Russian singer, songwriter and producer became an accidental ambassador for the lonesome and rejected. Its themes of anxiety, unrequited romance and the outsider were articulated in fantastical bedroom-pop, which earned Shura an impassioned global fanbase. Unsurprisingly, if youd have told her just a few years ago that shed make a follow-up exploring all that love is few would have been as surprised as herself. And whilst how to live and love as a queer woman has always been integral to Shura, its remarkable to hear the timeless stories of forevher twisted into new sonic fabric: this time around, the influence of Joni Mitchell, The Internet, and Carole King formed the basis of a record that (despite its universal theme) still in many ways runs counter to the dominant cultural narratives.

Looser, livelier, more ecstaticit is about anyone who has experienced this kind of love: as blinding as religion, as cheesy as a Hallmark card, as familiar as a pop song Pitchfork

Wonderfullong-distance it may be, but this love has worked wonders Sunday Times Culture

A sensual departuretactile pop practitioner Guardian Guide

For something that exists in a digital age, Shuras second album still holds on to that one thing that all no amount of technology or volume of air miles can replace genuine heart Dork ****

A boldly romantic, optimistic triumph of a second album The Line of Best Fit, 9/10

Inserting queer love into the cis-hetero romantic narratives that have dominated western culture for millennia and it works Loud & Quiet