I Got Too Sad for My Friends is the third studio album by the English singer Shura. It was released via Play It Again Sam, on 30 May 2025. It was preceded by three singles, "Recognise", "World's Worst Girlfriend" and "Richardson", and Shura's 2019 project, Forevher.
Background Noted as an art pop album with elements of electro, folk and synth-pop, I Got Too Sad for My Friends is composed of eleven songs ranging between two and four minutes each, with a total runtime of approximately thirty-eight minutes. "Recognise" was released as the first single on 22 January 2025. It was followed by the second single, "Richardson", featuring American singer Cassandra Jenkins, on 26 February 2025. "World's Worst Girlfriend", was released on 16 April 2025, as the album's third single.
Reception
The album received a 7.0 rating from Pitchforks Marissa Lorusso, who stated, "At its best, I Got Too Sad doesn't just offer a clichéd reminder that it's OK to cry; it suggests that looking closely at any one emotion can be a means of letting more light in." The Skinny gave it a four-star rating and remarked, "The album is a lesson in melancholy. You'd expect that, it is called I Got Too Sad for My Friends, after all. But that isn't the full story." Clash assigned it a score of eight out of ten, noting "Guest appearances from Helado Negro and Becca Mancari add languid brushstrokes to the album's final tracks that cap off a potent third record that retains a pop heart whilst wandering off into compelling new terrain." I Got Too Sad for My Friends was given a rating of four out of five by Dork reviewer Felicity Newton, who described it as "trading the polished electronic sheen of her earlier work for something more organic and emotionally raw."
Evening Standard, stating "this feels like a brave album in which outside and inside forces are taken on with these songs. And again: what a voice," assigned the album a rating of four stars. Otis Robinson, writing for DIY, rated it three and a half stars and opined, "Though there's a helpless frustration at the heart of (the album), it's far more tender in its retrospection to be unforgiving of herself. Touchingly, hope is always plentiful. (The album) promises there's always sunshine at the end of perseverance." The project was given a score of seven out of ten by The Line of Best Fit reviewer David Cobbald, who described it as "a wonderfully made piece of easy listening, it takes Shura away from the love-sick girl of the 2010s and shows a woman now in her 30s who sees the world for what it is."
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Musicians
Shura – vocals, guitar, synthesizers, piano, additional programming Cassandra Jenkins – additional vocals on "Richardson" Helado Negro – additional vocals on "If You Don't Believe In Love" Becca Mancari – additional vocals on "Bad Kid" Joel Laslett Pott – backing vocals, additional guitar, synthesizers Tobie Tripp – backing vocals, strings, piano Kojo Degraft-Johnson – backing vocals Annabel Spooner – backing vocals Meshach Spooner – backing vocals Maverick Sabre – backing vocals Nicholas Denton – backing vocals Pauline Le Mell – backing vocals Daniel Moyler – backing vocals Peanut – backing vocals Axel Ekermann – bass Leo Abrahams – guitar Barrie Cadogan – guitar Luke Saunders – additional guitar Liam Hutton – drums Tuca Milan – percussion Luke Smith – additional percussion, synthesizers, programming Harvey Grant – synthesizers, Hammond organ, piano Paul Jones – piano, saxophone Stephen Black – clarinet, saxophone
Technical Shura – production Luke Smith – production Joel Laslett Pott – additional co-production Daniel James Goodwin – mixing Marta Salogni – mixing Billy Halliday – engineering Animesh Raval – engineering Dan Moyler – engineering Macks Faulkron – engineering Drew Carol – engineering Katie Tavini – mastering
Visuals Gilad Kaufman – creative direction, design Sophie Williams – photography
References