nadine shah

From tragedy to triumph - the Geordie lass’s fifth album is the unflinching sonic sequela of her horribly public breakdown - an extraordinarily candid, muscular and poignant rehabilitation.

Cut through with her serrated and astute humour, these mini-masterpieces mirror the complexity of this troubled talent’s mind, drawing melody from abrasion and juxtaposing beauty and tenderness with tension and uneasiness. The virtuosity and sophistication of Nadine (and long-time co-writer and producer, Ben Hillier)’s deep, expansive, soulful songwriting permeates every moment. It’s slung through with a danceable swoon, galvanising vocal licks, pulsing psych patterns, glam rock flourishes and mystical vibes, mutually coalescing and differentiating the genre-anarchic compositions.

The transition from ‘Sad Lads Anonymous’ - the brutal un-love letter to her old hometown of Ramsgate - to the cathartic rhythmic deftness of ‘Greatest Dancer’, serves as a 2-song distillation of the album’s narrative. The abiding experience of ‘Filthy Underneath’ is oddly life-affirming - a procession of a life-time of ghosts and their (hopefully long-lasting) exorcism.

Our Nat says: "A persistent musical disrupter. Always challenging. Never settling. Always reinventing. Never pedestrian. Always courageous. Never insouciant. Always slaying her own high standards. Never, never failing to endow the most sonically formidable and emotionally generous albums. If only this one hadn’t been born of such deep distress."