Album Review: Nadine Shah Love Your Dum And Mad

With a menacing and somewhat unsettling beat, Nadine Shah welcomes us into Aching Bones, the opening track of her debut album, Love Your Dum And Mad. It is a track which echoes with traces of PJ Harvey, early Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, mixed with an industrial sound, thanks to the metallic clanging that runs throughout. Shah's vocals are strong, yet the melodramatic nature of this debut makes it not the easiest album to sit through.

The atmosphere created by Love Your Dum And Mad is one of utter dreariness, and not in a particularly good way. Admittedly, she's included songs (such as Dreary Town) about, and dedicated the album to, two friends who suffered from mental illness and passed away while Shah was working on the album, and she should be commended for not shying away from a topic that has been taboo for far too long. That said, it's still difficult to maintain an interest in these songs, which are not short, as you work your way through the 11 on offer.

Shah had a very high-profile collaborator for this record in the form of recognised British producer Ben Hillier, who has worked with Depeche Mode, Blur and Editors to mention a mere few. Sadly, it's this fact and Shah's background (her father is Pakistani and her maternal grandparents are Norwegian) that are the most interesting things about Love Your Dum And Mad.

Aside from Aching Bones, which is the definite highlight of the album, closing track Winter Reigns is worth a mention if only for its extended and very pretty piano introduction