“Relentless wall of sound”: Nadine Shah describes her favourite Velvet Underground track
When Nadine Shah opened for Depeche Mode earlier this year, it wasn’t the first time audience members were left astounded, the same realisation swirling around their minds like a perfect storm: “She’s much too good to be a support act.” Over ten years ago, Shah opened for the Mode in Germany, proving that she is one of the most underappreciated acts in contemporary music.
Unlike most musicians, Shah’s excellence is indisputable if we only go by voice alone. Her vocals, which remain anchored in her hometown of Whitburn, hold more stories and emotions than are imaginable. That’s also because, since her debut in 2013, she has focused on the most important matters both in her personal life and the narratives that touch her the most.
Love Your Dum and Mad, for instance, was inspired by the power of destigmatising mental health following the deaths of two friends. Within her 2024 release, Filthy Underneath, Shah continued her exploration of grief and loss, underscored by her own experiences with addiction, mental health, and rehabilitation.
Although Shah’s artistic vision seems incredibly focused, her thematic versatility comes from her commitment to authenticity and channelling of the greats. There’s a reason why this musician has been compared to some of music’s leading figures in gothic music, like PJ Harvey and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and it’s linked to the way she wraps darkness in more complex lamentation.
Perhaps a more accurate association would be Nico, The Velvet Underground’s very own female force, whose half-sung, half-spoken voice could be seen as a much earlier parallel to Shah’s commentaries. Shah is a known fan of the underground maestros, but what’s even more interesting is that she spots the similarities. “The Velvet Underground and Nico is one of my favourite albums, especially ‘Venus in Furs’. It’s this relentless wall of sound, and I love the repetition,” she told The Line of Best Fit.
Adding: “It’s in my music as well. I like things to be very repetitive.”
Nico’s tone, being similar to Shah’s, doesn’t go unnoticed by the singer, who utilised it as a means of practising around the house. “‘Femme Fatale’ isn’t a wall of sound. Nico has one of those voices, like Nina Simone, that I can sing because it’s so low, I’d always sing it around the house,” she said. In 2017, John Cale presented Shah with an opportunity she couldn’t turn down, which would involve her stepping into the ‘These Days’ singer’s shoes officially in front of a live audience.
“I immediately replied with ‘Fuck off’. I thought it was a joke,” Shah said, recalling the moment Cale asked her to be a part of his The Velvet Underground and Nico anniversary gig. As part of the commemorations, Shah sang a cover of ‘Femme Fatale’, which proved to be one of the most unforgettable moments of her entire career.
“When I sang ‘Femme Fatale’, the audience’s response was amazing, and when I finished, [Cale] gave me a wink and started clapping,” she concluded. “After the show, he came up and said, ‘Hey trouble, thank you very much for making my song come to life.’ To share a stage with one of my heroes, someone I never thought I’d meet, I was completely overwhelmed. I was, ‘You know what? I can quit now, I’m done.’”
