126: Shura - Recognise
It was sometime in mid 2023 when I had a BTS chat on social media with Shura, who reached out after seeing me talk about a big heap of writer's block I was trying to overcome. She was kind enough to share some resources that had helped her, and we chatted briefly about what she'd gone through, even going as far to say that at one point she genuinely wasn't sure she'd be able write another song ever again.
Heartening, then, that some 18 months further down the road, and a full five years since her last LP, Shura has announced a brand new album, and also shared the gorgeous first single from it. Released this coming May, I Got Too Sad For My Friends features eleven new songs including collaborations with Cassandra Jenkins, Helado Negro, and Becca Mancari.
"Arthur Russell sang 'being sad is not a crime' and yet somehow when I went through a period of despair in January I felt that the best course of action was to hide myself away from the world. I think 'Recognise' is a song about coming out the other side of that feeling. Slowly coming to the understanding that everything is ok. And that ok - is good. That I can sit quietly, read a book, sip a coffee and deeply appreciate being here and everything that has happened and has yet to happen…"
A brooding four-and-a-half minutes, 'Recognise' is a perfect reminder of her craft, the song tip-toeing into life, a tenderly enunciated introduction that kicks into life with heartfelt melodies, generous percussion and shimmering synths. What really lands is the sense of patience and restraint present throughout, the kind of measured delivery that can only come from conquering something and looking back; singing from the heart with your back to a door you finally managed to close.
It's magic. It took a while, and it took some doing, but it's magic all the same.
Pre-order the album here
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