Nothing's Real

Nothing's Real is the debut studio album by English singer Shura. It was released on 8 July 2016 by Polydor Records. The album was met with positive reviews from music critics.

Nothing's Real
Studio album by Shura
Released	8 July 2016 (2016-07-08)
Recorded	2014–2016
Studio	The Neighbourhood (London)[lower-alpha 1] Echo (Los Angeles)[lower-alpha 2] Wendyhouse (London)[lower-alpha 3] The Spaceship (London and California)[lower-alpha 3]
Genre	Electropop[1]
Length	49:00
Label	Polydor
Producer	Greg Kurstin Joel Laslett Pott Shura Al Shux
Shura chronology
White Light EP (2015) Nothing's Real (2016) Forevher (2019)
Singles from Nothing's Real
"Touch" Released: 4 March 2014 "Indecision" Released: 26 October 2014[2] "2Shy" Released: 10 March 2015[3] "White Light" Released: 10 July 2015[4] "What's It Gonna Be?" Released: 30 June 2016[5] "The Space Tapes" Released: 8 July 2016[6] "311215" Released: 23 September 2016[7] "Nothing's Real" Released: 4 November 2016[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Clash	8/10[11]
Exclaim!	7/10[1]
The Guardian	[12]
musicOMH	[13]
NME	4/5[14]
Pitchfork	7.7/10[15]
PopMatters	[16]
Q	[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]

Nothing's Real received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on 18 reviews.[9] Heather Phares of AllMusic wrote that Nothing's Real "boasts richer songwriting and wider-ranging sounds than might have been expected", concluding that the album "marks Shura as the kind of smart pop star the 2010s need."[10] Rob Mesure of musicOMH called the album "beautifully constructed" and stated, "The sound might be '80s, but this is undeniably now, and Shura a new star in 2016's increasingly bible-black night."[13] Andrew Paschal of PopMatters commented that the album is "packed with solid, infectious, deeply catchy pop songs, most all of which can stand alone just as easily as they can run with the pack."[16] Writing for Pitchfork, Laura Snapes remarked that Shura is "at the vanguard of a scene of young queer pop stars who are updating the '80s model of self-sufficient, fully liberated mainstream pop", adding that the album "offers a fresh vision for pop's new reality."[15]

Lisa Henderson of Clash opined, "Previously heard tracks still stand up as pop juggernauts but there's an obvious growth that has happened during the two-year wait; sonically and lyrically, Shura is at her most urgent and incisive."[11] Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian felt that the album's "more uptempo moments are especially promising; melodies so satisfying she should consider handing them to a major-league artist in need of a reboot."[12] Hannah Ziegler of Exclaim! viewed the album as "a neon sugar rush that occasionally fizzles out with filler tracks", commenting that it "ultimately leaves a lasting impression".[1] Joe Levy of Rolling Stone dubbed the album "a tangle of glam and glum" and wrote that Shura's videos "make clear the subjects of these songs ['What's It Gonna Be?', '2Shy' and 'Indecision'] are often women, but on record her work is open-ended—a map to a treasure that's just never there."[18] Hannah J. Davies of Q magazine expressed, "Avoiding the abstract experimentalism of her sample-heavy single 'The Space Tapes', she gives a fine display of how to be both retro and radio-friendly."[17]

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
The Guardian	The Best Albums of 2016	40	[19]
Idolator	The 10 Best Albums of 2016	5	[20]
musicOMH	Top 50 Albums of 2016	12	[21]
The Skinny	Top 50 Albums of 2016	19	[22]
The Sunday Times	100 Best Records of the Year	35	[23]
Variance	50 Best Albums of 2016	39	[24]

Commercial performance

Nothing's Real debuted at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 4,777 copies in its first week.[25]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"(I)"	Aleksandra Lilah Denton Luke Saunders	Joel Laslett Pott Shura	1:29
2.	"Nothing's Real"	Denton Pott	Pott Shura	4:07
3.	"What's It Gonna Be?"	Greg Kurstin Denton Maureen "MoZella" McDonald Pott	Kurstin Pott^[a] Shura^[a]	3:34
4.	"Touch"	Denton Pott	Pott Shura	3:34
5.	"Kidz 'n' Stuff"	Denton Alexander Shuckburgh	Pott Al Shux Shura	5:10
6.	"Indecision"	Denton Pott	Pott Shura	3:32
7.	"What Happened to Us?"	Denton Pott	Pott Shura	4:09
8.	"(II)"	Denton Pott	Pott Shura	0:45
9.	"Tongue Tied"	Kurstin Denton McDonald	Kurstin Pott^[a] Shura^[a]	3:50
10.	"Make It Up"	Denton Pott	Pott Shura	3:31
11.	"2Shy"	Denton Pott	Pott Shura	4:38
12.	"White Light" / "311215" (hidden track)	Denton Pott ("White Light") / Denton ("311215")	Pott Shura	10:41
Total length:				49:00

Digital edition bonus track[26]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"The Space Tapes"	Denton Pott	Shura	9:33
Total length:				58:33

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Nothing's Real.[27]

Musicians Shura – synths (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12a, 12b); programming (track 1); vocals (tracks 2–7, 9–12b); keyboards (tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12a, 12b); backing vocals, programming (track 4); percussion (tracks 4, 12a); guitar (tracks 10, 12b); synth bass (track 12a) Joel Laslett Pott – guitar (tracks 1–7, 9–11); keyboards, synths (all tracks); programming (tracks 2–4, 6, 7, 10–12a); bass (tracks 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11); backing vocals (tracks 2, 3, 7, 11); percussion (tracks 4, 6, 7, 10–12a); piano (tracks 4, 11); synth bass (tracks 4, 6, 12a); additional programming (track 9); electric guitar (track 12a) Luke Saunders – synths (tracks 1, 12a); synth bass, programming (track 1); guitar (tracks 2, 5, 7); backing vocals (tracks 2, 7); bass guitar (tracks 6, 12a); electric guitar, keyboards (track 12a) Matt Ritson – drums, additional beats, percussion, samples (track 2) Will Ritson – drums, percussion, PO-12 (track 2) Kirsty Mangan – strings (track 2) Rachel Lander – strings (track 2) Greg Kurstin – keyboards, drums, bass (tracks 3, 9); guitar (track 9) Al Shux – programming, percussion, synth bass, keyboards, synths (track 5) Maxwell Cooke – synth bass (track 5) Ally Wilkinson – drums (tracks 5, 7, 11, 12a); percussion (tracks 7, 11, 12a) Stephen Roberts – drums (tracks 6, 9, 10); percussion (tracks 6, 10) Dan Grech-Marguerat – additional programming (track 12a) Giacki Watterson – beat programming (track 12b) Jonny Pilcher – piano (track 12b)

Technical Joel Laslett Pott – production (tracks 1, 2, 4–8, 10–12b); recording engineering (all tracks); additional production (tracks 3, 9) Shura – production (tracks 1, 2, 4–8, 10–12b); additional production (tracks 3, 9) Daniel Moyler – recording engineering (tracks 1–3, 5–7, 9–12b) David Wrench – mixing (tracks 1, 5–11, 12b) Marta Salogni – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 5–11, 12b) Steph Marziano – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 5–11, 12b) Tom Stanley – recording engineering (tracks 2, 5–8, 11, 12a) Carey Willetts – recording engineering (track 2) Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (tracks 2–4) Michael Freeman – mixing assistance (tracks 2–4) Geoff Swan – mixing assistance (tracks 2–4) Greg Kurstin – production, recording engineering (tracks 3, 9) Alex Pasco – recording engineering (tracks 3, 9) Julian Burg – recording engineering (tracks 3, 9) Al Shux – production, recording engineering (track 5) Dan Grech-Marguerat – mixing (track 12a) Mandy Parnell – mastering Artwork Mat Maitland – art direction Shura – art direction Louise Pomeroy – illustrations Andrew Whitton – photography

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[28]	6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29]	73
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30]	130
Irish Albums (IRMA)[31]	73
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[32]	8
Scottish Albums (OCC)[33]	15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34]	35
UK Albums (OCC)[35]	13
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[36]	3
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[37]	12

Notes

1. All tracks
2. Tracks 3 and 9
3. Track 5

References

1. Ziegler, Hannah (6 July 2015). "Shura: Nothing's Real". Exclaim!. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
2. "Indecision (2014) | Shura". 7digital (UK). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
3. "2Shy – Single by Shura". iTunes Store (UK). Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
4. "White Light – Single by Shura". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 21 November 2016.
5. "What's It Gonna Be? (Tourist Remix) – Single by Shura". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 21 November 2016.
6. "The Space Tapes (2016) | Shura". 7digital (UK). Retrieved 21 November 2016.
7. "311215 – Single by Shura". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 21 November 2016.
8. "Nothing's Real (Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas Remix) – Single by Shura". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 21 November 2016.
9. "Reviews for Nothing's Real by Shura". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
10. Phares, Heather. "Nothing's Real – Shura". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
11. Henderson, Lisa (18 July 2016). "Shura – Nothing's Real". Clash. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
12. Gibsone, Harriet (7 July 2016). "Shura: Nothing's Real review – languid, introverted blog-pop". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
13. Mesure, Rob (9 July 2016). "Shura – Nothing's Real". musicOMH. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
14. Bartleet, Larry (13 July 2016). "Shura – 'Nothing's Real' Review". NME. Archived from the original on 15 July 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
15. Snapes, Laura (15 July 2016). "Shura: Nothing's Real". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
16. Paschal, Andrew (2 September 2016). "Shura: Nothing's Real". PopMatters. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
17. Davies, Hannah J. (August 2016). "Q Review: New Albums". Q. No. 362. p. 117. ISSN 0955-4955.
18. Levy, Joe (29 July 2016). "Review: Shura's 'Nothing's Real' Is a Downer Glam Gem". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
19. "The best albums of 2016: the full list". The Guardian. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
20. "The 10 Best Albums Of 2016". Idolator. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
21. "musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2016". musicOMH. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
22. "Top 50 Albums of 2016". The Skinny. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
23. "100 best records of the year". The Sunday Times. 4 December 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
24. "50 Best Albums of 2016". Variance. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
25. Jones, Alan (15 July 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Biffy Clyro in at No. 1 with Ellipsis". Music Week. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
26. "Nothing's Real by Shura". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved 29 September 2016.
27. Nothing's Real (liner notes). Shura. Polydor Records. 2016. 4784174.CS1 maint: others (link)
28. "ARIA Hitseekers – Week Commencing 18th July 2016" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (1377): 21. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016 – via Pandora Archive.
29. "Ultratop.be – Shura – Nothing's Real" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
30. "Ultratop.be – Shura – Nothing's Real" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
31. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 28, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
32. "Heatseeker Albums". Recorded Music NZ. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
33. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
34. "Swisscharts.com – Shura – Nothing's Real". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
35. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
36. "Shura Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
37. "Shura Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 April 2017.