Shuna Lovelle’s debut EP is more than just a collection of recent songs by the Edinburgh based artist. Book ended by an atmospheric intro and an enigmatic coda, Disappointment Is My Expectation is carefully curated and imbued with a strong sense of purpose.
Humming and echoing handclaps open the EP, the resonance suggesting a cavernous, church-like space. While the piano and strings forming the skeleton of most tracks recall the classic soul balladry of Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone, there’s a freshness in the supple electric guitar and the restrained drum machine beat of ‘Power’, which brings to mind the rich, gospel-infused gravitas of Hozier. On ‘Something Has Changed’, synths come washing in, filling out the space between the piano and Lovelle’s powerful vocals.
The EP’s concluding words are hauntingly beautiful, both a farewell and a promise to return: ‘another time, another life… for me’.
Disappointment Is My Expectation is out on 20th November
