Shuna Lovelle – Disappointment Is My Expectation
Edinburgh singer-songwriter Shuna Lovelle offers an exciting glimpse into her musical world on her promising debut EP
Shuna Lovelle’s EP starts strong. Acapella R'n'B trills mingle with layered handclaps to create an arresting marching beat, making way for its bold first line: 'My lover wants to ask me questions / I’m not ready to lie'. Disappointment Is My Expectation is the title track on this short but promising debut EP from the Edinburgh singer-songwriter, a sneering nihilistic song about the pointlessness of love ('always ends the same'). These themes persist across the six-track EP which offers an exciting glimpse into Lovelle’s musical world.
The dirgy Three Little Words is an extraordinary vocal performance, bringing to mind the stylings of some big hitters; Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse influences are clear here. Some songs could be improved with more bombast in the instrumentation, such as the powerful couplet (Power and Die For a Day) at the heart of the record. There are nods to the theatricality in both cases: the 70s-inflected guitar solo at the end of Power is a nice touch, as is the suggestion of strings in the latter, which has the DNA of a Bond song that could more than handle the heavier instrumental bravado to match.
Listen to: Disappointment Is My Expectation, Power, Die For a Day