NADINE SHAH
FILTHY UNDERNEATH
EMI NORTH
Recently, Nadine Shah released her album, Filthy Underneath. This comes after a near-four-year wait since her previous album, Kitchen Sink. Filthy Underneath, for all its slips, ends up mostly succeeding with another mostly decent album in her discography.
The opening track, “Even Light”, is possibly the weakest track on the album, filled to the brim with issues. To start, the vocals start to become tired and repetitive by the halfway point, and the production feels as though it is completely disconnected from the vocals. It all comes off as a first attempt at an album, much less a fourth album in one’s discography. Although this track appeared to strive for something, it ultimately fell short, producing a track that is excruciating to listen to for even a brief moment.
Thankfully, the next track represents what this album can be at its best. An incredible vocal performance further enhances “Topless Mother”, an energetic and compelling track. Early on, this track excels in both vocal and production aspects, and it does so with ease. It exemplifies some of the tracks later in the album in terms of quality, and it is a significant improvement over the horrible track that preceded it. Even better, it shows how far Shah has grown as an artist. This song feels like a showoff of her pure skill.
Filthy Underneath is an album filled with so much creativity and brilliant songs, only held back by some utterly horrendous tracks. For instance, the track “You Drive, I Shoot” is a captivating piece that effectively utilizes vocals, creating a haunting atmosphere and a unique vocal set by the production team. At its best this work is a true masterpiece. At its worst, it’s simply dreadful.
Overall, Filthy Underneath is, at times, a transfixing masterclass of an artist giving it her all, and, at other points, a horrific disaster that barely manages to be listenable.
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