Shura: Forevher
Forevher is the second album by English/Russian singer and songwriter Aleksandra Denton better known as Shura. Born in Manchester, she played football as a youngster for Manchester City before deciding to pursue a career in music. Football’s loss is music’s gain as the talented Shura has come up with a very assured successor to her debut Nothing’s Real which was listed here as a favourite album of 2016.
Up to now she has been best known for her electro-pop style with its echoes of the UK of the 1980s. For this album, recorded in London, there is a slight change musically as the synths are still there but there is also piano and generally a much broader sound palette. She borrows from various musical styles but updates these in ways that make the new album both very contemporary and uniquely Shura.
Lyrically too the concerns have shifted from the angst-ridden songs of three years ago to a more confident celebration of life and love. Some weighty topics are touched upon throughout, not least religion and death, but the overriding themes are to do with falling in love and the logistics of maintaining long-distance relationships. Clearly these have been triggered by Shura’s own relationship with her girlfriend in New York.
At the heart of the album is a trio of outstanding tracks. ‘BKLYNLDN’ is a love song that drives along infused with that wistful long-distance theme as she sings: “This isn’t love, this is an emergency”. It’s followed by ‘Tommy’ a song inspired by an 89-year old widower met in Texas and opens with a minute of his spoken word sample. It’s a touching, moving piece that flows along with a lovely melody.
Then comes ‘Princess Leia’ a reflection on death and more that all takes place while the singer is nearing the end of a plane trip. (Flight is another motif that appears on more than one song). The craft and precision of the song’s execution is reminiscent of Paul Simon. Only after listening did I realize the coincidental connection – Carrie Fisher, referenced in the song, was once married to Simon.
Elsewhere the (almost) title track ‘Forever’ begins as if it could be an outtake from ABC’s classic The Lexicon of Love while ‘Religion (u can lay your hands on me)’ is gloriously blasphemous with nuns kissing and smoking cigarettes in the official music video. The album’s cover image evokes Joni Mitchell with its shades of blue.
This is a very fine album that pays its dues to pop if not roots history while being refreshingly original. There are a couple of songs from Nothing’s Real that are just as good as anything here, if not better, but this is a real album to be listened to from start to finish.
Forevher is released by Secretly Canadian.
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