Shura's latest offering doesn't quite match previous releases, but with its infectious melody and vocals, 'What's It Gonna Be?' achieves a danceable pop status.
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In the run up to the release of her first album on June 8th, Shura has dropped a fresh new single ‘What’s It Gonna Be?’. Over the last few months, the English singer-songwriter-producer has given fans a string of catchy and quirky singles including ‘2Shy’ and ‘Touch’ as well as ‘The Space Tapes,’ a mix of samples from her upcoming record Nothing’s Real.
Her latest single begins abruptly with a rapid beat, gripping listeners from the first second, a different turn to previous releases where listeners are eased into Shura’s vocals through her use of layered production. These always seem to be effortlessly cool and smooth, lending to her 80s glittery pop, similar to that of EKKAH who are more on the dance side of the pop spectrum.
Sentimental and emotive lyrics are what Shura does best, and with ‘What’s It Gonna Be?’ she sticks to these themes with a focus on the doomed feeling of a one-time attraction leading to an inevitable realisation that things may not work out. Speaking about the track to BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac, Shura has said that “this record is about fancying someone and maybe having a kind of connection and then realising that it’s probably not going to happen.” In her melancholic falsetto she pleads “If you let me down, let me down slow” almost repeatedly and frantically asking the title over an equally chaotic synth backdrop.
Against her previous discography, the track doesn’t quite reach the same climax as releases like ‘Touch’ or ‘Indecision’. It’s slightly too conventional and doesn’t quite show off Shura’s talent as a quirky, honest, and stylish artist, which is portrayed clearly in ‘The Space Tapes.’ However, with Shura’s gripping vocals over danceable old-school synths and keys, ‘What’s It Gonna Be?’ could well become an infectious alt-indie summer hit.
‘What’s It Gonna Be?’ is out now via Polydor.
