Review: Shura, Louisiana

The last thing you’d expect on a hot ‘Glastonbury Thursday’ is a near sell-out gig, of any size, in Bristol. However, electropop should-really-be-a-star Shura confounded all expectations, attracting a near capacity crowd to the Louisiana, many of whom were clearly long-time fans and those who weren’t were rapidly converted.

With no support band to distract them the lively crowd were buzzing with anticipation from the outset.  Whether Shura could achieve a tough task and get them to quieten down and listen was initially debatable when the buzzing chatter did not diminish during the opening bars of her first song the relatively new, BKLYNLDN. However, as soon as she took to the stage the crowd began to listen to the loping, slow beats and yearning, nu-soul inflected vocals and, miraculously the chatter subsided and all but disappeared and this lasted throughout the entire gig. From BKLYNLDN it was straight into the bass, heavy, note-perfect, shimmering dance vibe of Nothings Real and then the dancing began.

As her set progressed she gained confidence, there was no between song chat at first, her hood remained resolutely up and she focused on hitting the notes and making sure the tunes were spot on. Then, surprisingly, the hood came down and the chat began. And entertaining, self-deprecatory chat it was; how she is rubbish at mini-golf, tennis too (despite buying all the white tennis kit Wimbledon style) but is good at football and was surprised that so many people had come to the gig instead of watching the England Women match. This destroyed any pretence at artist-audience separation and the gig became a much warmer, personal and celebratory experience for all concerned.

Shura does not appear to be embarrassed by her music reflecting her influences, and this boldness is to be commended. The most obvious influence is Madonna, early Madonna, when she was good, and fun and when she may have been aware of her limitations as a singer but didn’t care and didn’t want to be seen as a ‘serious artist’. Based on her performance at the Louisiana, Shura differs from Her Madgesty in that she does have a genuine musical talent, and has a fantastic, versatile voice, as evidenced by her ability to craft perfect, pop, with a nod to the eighties here, a wink at Whitney Houston and other divas – Mariah, Tina Turner there and a smart appropriation of more contemporary sounds by the likes of Blood Orange.

Whilst her older, dancier, poppier, material like Touch (an LGBT+ anthem in the making), and 2Shy were greeted rapturously by the crowd, songs from the imminent album which are more nu-soul and beats and bass focused were also received enthusiastically. And rightly so, her engaging stage presence, smart, literate, emotionally charged lyrics married to uncluttered rhythm and subtle synths demanded and received her audience’s attention and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

When the just shy of an hour set ended, Shura left the crowd wanting more, there was no encore – that was your lot, and the audience filed out disappointed but happy and euphoric. Always the sign of a great gig and this was indeed a great gig.

Read More: Review: Tom Misch, Bristol Sounds 2019