Chicago – U.K. songstress Nadine Shah first grabbed the attention of music lovers with her critically acclaimed debut Love Your Dum And Mad (Apollo Records). She was compared to PJ Harvey and dubbed the female Nick Cave – even though she hadn’t listened much to the two – and was applauded for her honest and open discussion of mental illness, love, and loss. Shah is back with her just-released sophomore album Fast Food (R&S/Apollo), which again has her being compared to Miss Polly Jean Harvey. Best New Bands wrote of “Fool” – Nadine Shah’s latest single – “The way ‘Fool’ threatens to burst into an angry anthem but never does shows an incredible degree of control. It’s one thing to punch a hole in the wall; it’s another, more chilling thing to fix someone with an unblinking, withering stare.”
Best New Bands caught up with Nadine Shah to discuss Fast Food. The British singer talked about “Fool,” dealing with anxiety, and poking fun at herself.
Your debut was extremely personal, inspired by the lives and deaths of two of your dear friends. What should we expect from your sophomore album, Fast Food? And what inspired you this time around? Is it just as personal?
This album is all about a succession of short-lived love affairs that I’ve experienced. (laughs) I actually find that a lot more difficult to talk about [than Love Your Dum And Mad]. I guess it’s not as dark a subject, but I guess it’s a lot more personal, a lot more revealing.
Well, hopefully I’ll get you to talk a little bit about some of the songs! (laughs)
(laughs) You can try!
Let’s start with “Stealing Cars.” What inspired this song?
It’s kind of about anxiety. I suffer from anxiety. It can manifest itself in dreams and irrational thoughts and stuff. I was in quite a difficult relationship for a bit. Maybe on the surface it looked perfect and wonderful, but actually, I was having these crazy dreams at the same time. It’s about that anxiety.
Is “Fool” about you or a particular fool you know?
It’s about a few different people. The album is kind of like portraits of a lot of people that I’ve loved or I lost… I suppose the lyrics sound quite scathing, but actually it’s totally tongue in cheek because I’m influenced by Nick Cave and Kerouac so to point out someone’s unpredictable nature, when in fact Nick Cave and Kerouac are two people I really admire, well… (laughs) I also live in – actually I just moved – but I lived in East London, which is heavily concentrated with hipsters. It’s a really trendy area. It’s painting a portrait of these very stereotypical hipsters, but at the same time, I lived there, so I was one of them. (laughs)
Speaking of Nick Cave, when your debut album came out, you were compared to him, as well as PJ Harvey. Both an honor, but I read that you hadn’t really listened much to either of them beforehand. Now I know you’ve become a fan of Nick Cave. Have you become a fan of PJ Harvey’s too?
Before the making of the first album, I hadn’t heard of them. When we released the first single off the first album, the reviews started coming in, I heard the comparisons and thought, “I better listen to them properly now!” I had heard like a song of Nick Cave’s and maybe like one or two songs of PJ Harvey’s, but I hadn’t really invested anytime in them. Then I started making the album and thought it was time I listened to them. Now I’m obsessed. I love, love them both, but I almost wish I hadn’t listened because they’re just too good! (laughs) You listen to their music, and you’re like, “What’s the point? I quit! I quit, I’m shit!”
No, no, you’re great, too! What other artists inspire you as a musician?
My two favorite artists are probably Nina Simone and Scott Walker. They’re kind of my “go-to” guys, vintage stuff I’ve grown up listening to, that I love. There are lots of contemporary bands that I really admire, at the same time. One band I love at the moment is called The Maccabees. They’re a U.K. band, and they’re my contemporaries, they’re one of the bands (that) have really grown each album. I think what they do is really interested, and I think they’re quite overlooked a lot. People kind of dismiss them thinking they’re poppy, but actually they’re a really clever bunch.
I hear jazz influences in your music, which makes sense because you used to be a jazz singer. How did you get from jazz to rock?
I got a bit bored of the jazz world. I was a jazz singer for quite a long time, and I would sing other people’s songs, which I enjoyed doing for a while but after a time it became quite tiresome and repetitive. I couldn’t really be creative with it, and I missed being creative. So then I moved. I went to an art college. There at the college, my tutor, she heard me singing. She said to me, “Why don’t you start incorporating your music in your artwork? You could do performance art!” So me taking up piano and guitar and making my own compositions, it was really me experimenting, like I’m not formally trained, but can I get a sound out of this thing? That’s how I started making my own stuff, I guess, and what I was listening to at the time was more rock based.
When I was listening to “Fool” earlier, I kept hearing influences of 90s rock, specifically Nirvana, so I’m wondering if you’re a fan of Nirvana?
Yeah, I love Nirvana! That’s the first time I heard that. I like that!
Well, I like Fast Food! The album is available for purchase on iTunes. Keep up with Nadine Shah on facebook and twitter for tour dates and other news.
Sarah Hess
After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.
You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.
Latest posts by Sarah Hess (see all)
- The Wild Feathers Check One Off The Bucket List - July 31, 2017
- RY X Captivates Chicago - October 24, 2016
- Four New Bands at Day Three of Riot Fest - September 20, 2016
