Aching Bones EP version

'If all live debuts were as breathtaking as Nadine Shah's then the walls of the music
industry as we know it would crumble to dust, and in their place proud palaces of
hope and beauty would spring forth.'
BBC Manchester
'...brings together the sea shanty/chain gang sound of Nick Cave's Bad Seeds circa
From Her to Eternity with the brooding menace of Massive Attack.'
Dazed & Confused
Of Norwegian and Pakistani ancestry, British born and London based Nadine Shah
is an uncompromising vocalist and composer hailing from a small coastal village in
the North East of England named Whitburn. Her dark tales of love, loss and lust are
fast earning her numerable plaudits, having already been championed by the likes of
BBC Introducing, 6 Music and XFM’s John Kennedy.
Drawing on the sonic impressions left by the likes of Nick Cave’s From Her to
Eternity, Scott Walker, early PJ Harvey, whilst mining the same bruised honesty as
a more sheen-less Broken English by Marianne Faithful, the young artist's
compositions lean towards the dramatic, her smoky husky-hued vocals imbued with
an understated unease, with a stage presence that belies her youthful age.
The 3-tracker is the result of a unique collaboration between Nadine and producer
Ben Hillier (The Horrors, Blur, Depeche Mode) that explores relationships, revenge
and regret.
Lead track 'Aching Bones', with its insistent clanging rhythm and sparse tinkering
keys, is probably the most menacing of all three, closely followed by 'Never Tell Me
Mam', which Nadine explains is “your standard tale of unrequited love I guess. I tend
to use quite a lot of colloquialisms in my lyrics, mainly just because this is how I
would talk in my everyday speak so why change it for lyrics?” Not a problem at all
when the delivery is so honest and intoxicating.
While 'Are You With Me' offers up a richer, instrumental backdrop for Nadine's
swelling vocal refrain as it repeats lyrics inspired by overheard conversation. “To me,
it brought that image of Lord Kitchener pointing at the viewer on those war
recruitment posters saying "we need you!" on them. I found it interesting to use that
particular phrasing in the context of a love song, as though to say "Are you on my
side? Are we in this together?”
So, are you with her? Judging by the strength of this initial material, one would be
foolhardy not to be. With this debut we bear witness to the emergence of a very
special talent.