Like a phoenix, Nadine Shah He has been reborn, not from his ashes, but rather from his addictions and mental problems. The death of her mother from cancer when she had just finished editing “Kitchen Sink” (20), her previous job, combined with the isolation of the pandemic, depression, a divorce and the abuse of alcohol and pills, pushed her to write a tweet in which she announced her suicide. It was thanks to this public exposure of her unhealthy intentions that activated all the assistance mechanisms and pushed her manager to recommend that she check herself into a rehabilitation and mental health center where they would take care of her and dispel all of her demons. she. What seemed like it was going to be a detoxification process of just a couple of weeks, turned into a period of a couple of months of therapy, which has served as direct inspiration for the development of this painful yet healing album. . Almost nothing.
After what has been said, it is clear that “Filthy Underneath” It is not just any album and, precisely for that reason, you have to face it differently than you would with any other album and even more so in these fast-paced times. The album is a work that requires dedication and very attentive listening. Only then will you be able to extract all that hidden shit that its explicit title refers to. Only in this way will all the raw beauty that one can find in the desperation of human beings emerge; in the harshness of stories of people who have hit rock bottom and are looking for redemption and help. Furthermore, the album shows a Nadine Shah sober that seems to have found its own voice. The one that was claimed in more obvious and intentional albums like “Holiday Destination”. For now, in this entire process of redemption, Nadine herself says that she has stopped restricting herself when singing, reaching previously unheard of notes and eliminating any limitation when it comes to projecting herself without fear. What was previously a predilection for low, somber tones, she now finds pleasure in higher registers. You just have to listen to songs like the fast-paced “Topless Mother” or the most epic “Greaters Dancer” to realize this new record that suits his music wonderfully.
It is obvious, therefore, that in “Filthy Underneath” Nadine Shah has reached a new, more expansive dimension both in terms of interpretation and composition of the songs. A level with which you can look face to face at your contemporaries such as St. Vincent, Bat For Lashes or Julia Holter with whom you can be compared without now being called exaggerated. A part of this transformation process is also the responsibility of the producer and drummer Ben Hillier, who helped her find that new, more expansive, varied, happy and rhythmic vision of her proposal. A new work based on observation and experiences lived with the rest of the patients during those two months of therapy. Weeks of sobriety and reflection that have resulted in one of the most scathing and interesting albums so far this year. What has been said, listen to it without precipitation.