Record of the Month: Delving into the magic of Nadine Shah’s stunning ‘Filthy Underneath’
Genre is steadily starting to blur, rendering demarkation a labelling practice of the past that we’re moving away from in society, never mind music. However, few records make as much use of the dissolving of divides as Nadine Shah‘s new whirlwind, Filthy Underneath. With the album, the northeast star draws upon so many influences that the end result seems paradoxically utterly devoid of any direct influence at all.
The result is something that is both surrealist and starkly prescient. This carries through onto the lyrics and themes too, where wailing topless mothers and commentary on the bullshit peddled in gentrified suburbs collide in a manner that proclaims you can be serious without taking yourself too seriously. It is that very sentiment that captures the ‘feel’ of the album: there’s a stern backbone, but everything else is free to have fun, no matter how morbid or damning the subject that spawned it may have once seemed to the songwriter.
In this regard, it not only captures the times but also offers up a reprise by reframing them in a quirky fashion that finds a glass slipper to slide into, thanks to the sultry music. So, although it is murky and dense, it is also so considered that it feels knowable and emotive upon a single listen. Shah herself tells us this is why she thinks it has resonated so resoundingly. “Taking the album out on a tour of record stores around the UK really cemented to me, ‘Holy shit, people are really fucking connecting to this one’.”
She continued to tell me: “The response has knocked me sideways, but I could get used to this. I’m chomping at the bit to get out on the road again.”
Concluding, she added: “It’s by far the most joyous piece of work to perform that I’ve made to date.”
From the outside, a key facet behind Shah’s joyous, connective triumph is that she has focussed the attention of the record on her own experiences. She hasn’t put society as a whole to the sword but rather a tumultuous chapter of her own life. Thus, nothing is over-explained, and yet, as listeners, we all feel like we can relate. For the few that maybe can’t, then there’s always a captivating soundscape that keeps you held in the undertow and a few dramatic ‘hits’ to boot.
Perhaps it is this captivating groove that stands out as the record’s pinnacle, but the jury is still out on that because the melee of Filthy Underneath still seems to be taking form. Nevertheless, the dense beast slips perfectly into dancing attire and slides around the floor with balletic grace. Offering up everything isn’t a problem, provided you give everything to match. So, rather than being crowded and congested, the stunning album feels more like the roar of emancipation from a performer freeing herself from the shackles of the past and staring steadfastly into the future, with music the product of this cathartic release and recalibrated cognisance.
Shah stands boldly on this precipice, and despite the bruises that she bravely sings of, she offers up her finest performance to date. It just so happens that musically, this brimming sincerity also seems to tap into development in instrumentation as picking a sound for the record is near impossible, but for me, the image it conjures is the painting of a flamenco dancer on the wall of The Crown Posada.
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