TRACK REVIEW: Nadine Shah - Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love)

TRACK REVIEW:

Nadine Shah

Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love)

9.6/10

The track, Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love), is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX9bxRCVWnI

GENRE:

Indie Rock

ORIGIN:

London, U.K.

RELEASE DATE:

3rd February, 2020

LABEL:

WMG (on behalf of Infectious Music)

__________

ALTHOUGH her new track has been out a few days…

I wanted to cover Nadine Shah’s Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love) today because I think a lot more people should listen to it and, now that it is the weekend, settle down and listen to this fantastic song. Before I move on, I want to introduce another feature I wrote recently, that argues how Shah will be an icon in the future. It is a chorological look at her music, and it shows just how good her back catalogue is. I think she will be a huge fixture on the festival scene this year. I have a few points to cover off but, before I do, the release date of the song is interesting. Of course, Shah’s latest track has been included in Spotify’s New Music Friday lists, but Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love) arrived at the start of the week. I remember when albums and singles came out on a Monday. It was the start of the week and, after school, I would go and grab a single or album. In fact, there was something fantastic about waiting until the weekend. A big album or single would come out on the Monday, and it would force me not to spend money on sweets and other bits so that I could afford the album and the bus fare. Having that sort of anticipation and excitement build was great, and it would add extra sweetness to the weekend! I am not sure why the day of release was changed from Monday to Friday, but I sort of like when artists put out a single or album earlier in the week. Of course, Nadine Shah’s latest track is only available online, but one gets tired of the cliché release schedule where artists wait until a Friday and then put out tracks so they can be on Spotify lists or fit in with the crowd.

I do not think there is any risk releasing a song on any other day of the week, but Shah is someone who does not follow the stereotypical and commercial. I have been watching her video on YouTube and, whilst it does not have as many views as bigger Pop songs, it is a much stronger video (than most produce) and I can see Shah is promoting the song quite a lot – an artist who is very proud of her work. Although Shah will most likely not see this review, I wonder why we do not have more journalists reacting to songs in a deep and forensic way. I understand my writing is pretty extensive and thorough, but one does not have to go too crazy. When singles are released, I tend to find websites mention it and then provide a link. I know album reviews are more common, but I think it is important to throw more love the way of singles. It is great so many people have reacted positively to Shah’s Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love), but it would be nice to see proper single reviews return. Shah herself, as I said, is pushing the track, and it is always brilliant when she releases music. I shall move on in a second but, first, I want to stay on the theme of releases and schematics. I do think, when it comes to Spotify playlists and YouTube, there is priority given to the mainstream Pop artists. I think artists like Nadine Shah are much more interesting and stronger and, as we welcome in this new year, I wonder whether things need to change. Maybe it would be hard to do that, yet there is this wave of artists with something important to say that are not held in the same esteem as more commercial artists. Let’s hope lots more people listen to Shah’s latest track because, as you’d expect, it is a gem!

I will bring in a few topics of discussion but, before then, a few more details about Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love). The Quietus explain more:

“The album, which follows 2017's excellent Holiday Destination - number five in our top 100 of that year - is preceded by lead single 'Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love)', which you can watch the video for above.

Shah says of the track: "My brother was making a comment on sexism when he was younger and made a painting of a man embracing a goat with the phrase “ladies for babies, goats for love”. It always stuck with me, I guess 'cause it sounded daft but really because even back then I knew its true meaning and intent. I was also thinking about a lot of the songs I would have been listening to at the time, songs I sang along to innocently without question of the meaning.

"'Ladies for Babies' is a direct response to 'All That She Wants' by Ace of Base. I reversed the gender and I poke fun at a husband who expects nothing more from me, as a wife, than to carry his child and perform the role of the obeying subservient trophy wife. Only this time the mistress is a farmyard animal. A lot of my album explores subjects of sexism and tradition".

I was talking about Shah’s music and how it has something important to say. I think, especially earlier in her career, people did not look past the fact that she is a woman. I remember when her first couple of albums came out, and I was reading a lot of articles and comments that referred to her as a ‘female songwriter’. I think there are still attitudes that see women as a genre and do not realise that they are as strong and varied – if not more so – than male artists. I do a weekly playlist that is female-led, that shows just what talent and variety there is around.

It is pretty mad that, even in 2020, we have to have these discussions! In 2015, when Shah was talking about her album, Fast Food, to Time Out, the subject of gender came up:

And what’s Ben Hillier’s role?

‘Well, Ben and I: it’s 50/50, if I’m going to be completely honest. The melodies and the lyrics are all me, but Ben adds this character to the song that nobody else would have. It’s a complete collaboration. He’s like a partner in crime.’

So will you work with him for the foreseeable?

‘I’m going to work with Ben until one of us croaks it. There are so many producers that I’ve met who, as soon as they hear my voice, they want to do the Adele thing. They don’t get that the vocal isn’t the be-all-and-end-all.’

Is that just part of the shitty deal that women get in the music industry?

‘I’m quite lucky, because I only work with really fucking cool people and I’ve never been exposed to sexism in music that I know of. But one thing that irritates me is that because my band name is my name, people assume that it’s going to be a girl in a pretty little dress playing a ukulele. We’re a band, we make a big sound, but I think sometimes the nature of my name has held me back. “Female solo artist” has now become a genre, which is mental. It’s pretty appalling, considering the plethora of amazing women musicians out there.’”

I do hope attitudes and perceptions change, because the industry is not as enlightened as it should be. Festivals are still woefully skewed towards men, and they get the most attention when it comes to the music press and who goes on the cover. There have been changes and, to be fair, things are better than they were years ago. I still feel there is this perception women cannot handle the heavy lifting of a festival headline slot and their music all sounds the same. This feeling that female artists should look pretty and sing a particular way is an attitude one would expect in the 1950s yet, seventy years later, we are still hearing too much of this nonsense!

Shah is an artist who has spoken out against sexism and prejudice and, as a Muslim artist, she has faced a lot of crap through her career. I know the music industry has a problem with race and, like sexism, racism is something discussed often. This DIY article outlines how Shah has encountered a lot of discrimination and barriers:

“If it seems insane that it'd take three records and half a decade for an artist to be regarded more comprehensively than for the surface level of their gender, then it's one of many deep-rooted issues that Nadine has encountered and spoken out against. As a second generation immigrant and a Muslim woman in the music industry, she's sadly not exactly lacking in injustices visible to her from all angles. Ironically, even the fact of actively speaking out about these things levels another concern. "[You get labelled] a difficult woman. So I'm also very aware of having to pick my battles, but there's so many unfortunately at the minute to speak about," she exhales. "Originally it was as a mental health ambassador, and then talking about a rise in nationalism and the refugee crisis, women in music... so many different things at one time. And I worry that people will stop listening, because they'll think, oh she just complains about everything. But you've kind of got to..."

That is another thing to mention: how women are seen as ‘difficult’ when they speak out and take issue with any discrimination. I am not saying Nadine Shah has a harder time than other artists, but I know she would have had people trying to silence her when she spoke against sexism and prejudice. Shah is a role model for so many reasons. She is a very strong woman who does not take any guff from the industry and those who want to label her. I think the last couple of years especially have seen so many incredibly original and strong women emerge; making sure they are heard and get respect. Music is still bowed to the needs and music of men, but it is artists like Nadine Shah who are ensuring we see progression and balance – even if it is slower than it should be.

Gender and sexism will feed into my review of Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love), but I wanted to mention politics and how, if you are an artist, it is risky having an opinion. Taylor Swift is an artist with an enormous commercial stock, and I can imagine her record label clenching their buttchecks when she talked about political matters. It is only fairly recently where Swift has been more open about politics, and it is a shame that artists suffer criticism when they have a political viewpoint. We are living through some tough times, so I think artists should be free to have an opinion. Of course, if you are an artist like Morrissey and support far-right movements, then you are (rightly) going to get some stick – he is a bit of a bell-end, mind. Social media is a great platform for sharing music, but I wonder whether it creates more negativity and toxicity than it should. Nadine Shah is an artist who has opinions about the state of the U.K. and, as a Muslim woman from the North of England (although she is based in London now, I believe, Shah was born in Whitburn, South Tyneside to an English mother from South Shields of part Norwegian ancestry and a Pakistani father), her experience and perspective is different to a lot of people. She knows how those in power in London affect her family and her community; how it impacted her growing up and, as I shall explore later, how it contributes to mental-health problems and anxiety. When Shah spoke with DIY in 2018, the subject of politics came up:

“In a social media landscape where expressing any kind of political view leaves you open to intense public scrutiny ("There’s been loads of conversations about whether music should be political and if Taylor Swift was isolating some of her audience by urging them to vote because they're Republicans, but THANK GOD someone with that power and reach is finally saying something," she notes, by way of example), Nadine’s candour and undiluted frustration across the last 12 months have been a hugely empowering force.

More than wanting adulation and personal praise, it's markedly clear in conversation that what a bigger spotlight and a larger platform means to the singer is that she can shout these stories louder, and reach the places where they might need them the most. "I wish I was Adele. I keep saying it but I wish that Adele could have taken my album and put it out. I mean, it'd sound a lot better with her voice anyway, but she has far more clout than I have and she can speak to so many more people," she says. "I felt for so long that I was just preaching to the converted, but one thing that’s been so beautiful is that although people I’m speaking to already have the same political stance as me, they’ve been reassured that someone’s talking about it. What my album’s done for a lot of people is lend a voice to their own activism, and that’s really important. If you can't find the words, use these. They're yours, take it"

I think it is important to talk about race, politics, and gender in a music review because, as you will hear in Nadine Shah’s work, these issues are important. She looked at immigration in Holiday Destination and she is someone who has spoken candidly about mental-health and how low she was in the past. I am not sure how Shah feels about being a role model because she is a Muslim woman who plays guitar, but I know a lot of artists have seen and heard her interviews and feel more empowered. Whether they are Muslim artists or women in general – Shah has helped so many women (and men) and made them feel less alone. I will bring in another Holiday Destination-era interview. Shah spoke with The Independent and discussed how she felt about this label of being a ‘role model’:

“Shah is conscious that being a Muslim woman in the music industry makes her a role model: “If it inspires any young Muslim women to pick up a guitar and play a song, that’s brilliant.” She recalls two young women wearing hijabs in the crowd at her Roundhouse show, one of whom mouthed “thank you” and the other who gave her two thumbs up. “Obviously I burst out crying,” she says. “That is a memory that’s going to stay with me forever. It makes me want to do more. I am just one version of a Muslim woman, and people don’t get to see a lot of my kind.”

“I loved being mixed race growing up,” she says. “I felt it was something that made me different, and I had this wealth of beautiful culture to draw on that friends didn’t know about and I could teach them. Things were awful after 9/11. So I did find coming to London as an escape.” She now lives in north London’s Tottenham, which she loves for its diversity”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Phil Smithies

I will get to the review very soon but, as I like to cover an artist from various angles and go beyond the song itself, I have a couple of other things to say. Many people were expecting Shah to stroll away with the Mercury Prize in 2018 for Holiday Destination (which was released the previous year). I am baffled why it did not win – Shah was pretty keen to win! -, but maybe it was because it was a bit too political. That seems unlikely, as the judging panel do not shy away from politics. Wolf Alice won the prize that year and, whilst their Visions of a Life album is great, Shah deserved it more. I do not want to bring up race and background, but the Mercury Prize, certainly the last few years, has been very London-centric – Wolf Alice are based out of London. I raise this argument, because Shah is an artist who deserves a lot more acclaim and attention. Whilst stations like BBC Radio 6 Music are firm fans, I think her music should be played more widely and, when it comes to awards and ceremonies, her name need to be on a few trophies. This Guardian article references the Mercury shortlist of 2018, and Shah’s reaction to the names included:

“She burst into tears when she found out she’d been shortlisted, but also felt disappointed at seeing established acts rather than newer, smaller names next to hers. She think Gwenno’s Le Kov also deserved a place, as well as Young Fathers’ Cocoa Sugar. “I was so happy to be nominated,” she explains, “and then artists like Noel Gallagher are on it. I was upset about that.”

Holiday Destination certainly stands alone in its overt despair at the world. While the past year is said to have signalled a new dawn for the rock’n’roll protest record, Shah says this is bullshit. “There were hardly any – and that’s not me being arrogant, that’s me shouting for other people to make them.” She makes favourable mention of Maximo Park’s Risk to Exist and Everything Everything’s (also Mercury-nominated) A Fever Dream, but a lot of the so-called “political” artists are, she says, “predominantly white males making T-shirt politics” – all slogans and no substance. “It’s just a trend. There’s no thought process behind it and I don’t believe them at all”

PHOTO CREDIT: Phil Smithies

I feel Shah’s time will come when she releases her next album. I am just about to review her new song but, just before, two quick points that highlight why she is so inspiring and terrific. I alluded to the fact Shah has talked about depression and anxiety. In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, Shah revealed how she was struggling whilst writing and recording Holiday Destination:

“During the making of the album, Shah was also getting to grips with turning 30 and getting out of “an abusive relationship” where she was “being tortured every day”. “It was really bad,” she says. “I was bullied for a long time, but it was great for lyric-writing.” She’s being sardonic, but she did find solace in singing from other perspectives than her own. “My personal life was so awful, it made me want to escape a lot and write about other people.” But despite such personal turmoil, she was keen to make songs that weren’t “dour and down in the dumps”. She and her longstanding collaborator and producer, Ben Hillier, looked to Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat sound for lively rhythms, and laced the album with eastern scales to subtly nod to the Middle East”.

Nadine Shah is a role model, for sure, and a figure in the industry who is helping open dialogues, eyes, and doors. I wanted to mention Shah’s hosting duties at the Q Awards last year. It seemed only natural to book the funny, charming and whip-smart Shah to host the event:

“Q Magazine editor Ted Kessler said: “Rarely can an absolute outsider have become a closed-book favourite for any role quicker, but once Nadine Shah had charmed all-comers as a guest presenter at last year’s Q Awards, we felt certain she was who we wanted to present the whole caboodle in 2019.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lucy Johnston

“I am an old man who has been to many award ceremonies over the centuries. In that time, I have heard the same jokes told by the same comedians and radio jocks on a conveyor belt at each bash.

“Mo Gilligan did a great, deadpan job in breaking that routine at last year’s Q Awards.

“But we wondered if we could go one step further and hand the reins over to a respected, charismatic musical titan to marshal her peers instead of a professional presenter.

“After all, we’re celebrating music. Over to Nadine”.

Shah is a terrific talent and, oh, before getting to the review, try and watch the music video! Shah always produces these magnificent videos, which makes me sad her music is not more regarded and watched on YouTube. The video for Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love) provides a feast for the eyes and it definitely stays in the memory! I really love how Shah pairs film and music, and I think there is a great documentary in Shah. Maybe similar to PJ Harvey’s A Dog Called Money, I can envisage Shah talking about topics like gender and race in music, but splicing together humour and serious discussion. That is just me musing aloud, but Shah is someone who captivates and grabs your attention. I will finish this review by looking ahead at what is to come for Shah but, just before, there is the business of a new song. It sort of arrived out of the blue – there was not the same circus of promotion and teasing you get with other artists –, and it is a right belter!

I know the origin of Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love), but I think the song’s video adds context and illustrates the song’s meanings. I think, actually, Shah said in an interview – maybe with BBC Radio 6 Music? – how she was partly inspired by Ace of Base’s All That She Wants – a song where we are told: “All that she wants, is another baby”. Shah’s track flips that: the man is the one who wants a baby. To be fair, maybe it is not simply about fatherhood and that yearning. The opening moments of the video shows a man lazing in the bath whilst Shah cooks dinner. It is beautifully shot, so that we cut between the kitchen and bathroom; the kitchen looking quite simple and kitsch, whilst Shah pours herself wine, checks the hob and, soon enough, drops some food from the oven onto the floor. The man looks all calm and chilled, whilst Shah puts her head in her hands; the hero kisses her neck and there is this domestic tension and conflict that plays out fantastically. The guy wants “his lady to be a lady” and he wants her to “care less and be hairless”. I got this feeling of a man who wanted the woman to be quiet and subservient; someone obedient, and someone you might see in adverts of the 1950s – tending to the dinner and not having any views or anything to say. Whilst I cannot get that Ace of Base tune out of my head (as it is ace), I think there is more to the song that meets the eye. The video has this 1950s décor, which lends credence to this assumption of the woman being domestic and tending to the man’s needs. In the video, Shah is serving food and there are these great cuts again: guests being welcomed into the house; Shah drinking wine alone and not enjoying herself. The track, in terms of sound, has similar to tones to Holiday Destination. The chorus has great snap and raw energy, whilst Shah elongates her words and teases her lines in the verses.

Maybe the fella is not brave and mature enough to become a father, so he wants his woman to fill that role. He does not want to be spoken back to but, as Shah wants in the song: “But careful, she could turn out like…”. The video is beautifully realised and shot, and it gives the song this very vivid and film-like quality. The cast of guests at this party/soiree - there is some excellent facial hair on display! -, includes some great characters. Shah weaves between them and throws looks of smirking, contempt and unhappiness in. You get the feeling that she is being shoved aside and marginalised whilst, at the same time, preparing some form of rebellion or vengeance. Whilst the husband/boyfriend is getting his guests smashed and generally holding court, Shah is away from the spotlight and providing her own monologue and angle. I keep coming back to the way the video is edited, but I love how we get so much action and story from a single house/set. Shah sings about being picked from a menu; a woman selected like a starter or something disposable. That ties in neatly with the food/drink ensemble of the video; matched against the natty 1950s clothes and bright colours, it is a real trip! Shah contemplates, broods and gives the steely eye! “Cause, sir/choose so wisely/You wanna tame me/As though you fear me” seems to be the song’s second act: we have progressed from the domestic disharmony and supressed heroine who, now, is giving warning and setting us up for a juicy climax. Although Shah has prepared all the grub and made the place look proper nice (I shall stop trying to be northern!), it is the man who gets all the acclaim and compliments. Each time the chorus fires out – talking of the woman never being able to give enough; the man taking her for granted -, it grows heavier and more important.

Shah, as the title might indicate, is sort of like a goat or something that can be taken to market to show off, sell, or get rid of. Shah is magnetic on screen as she talks about gender roles – “And if a lady’s to be a lady/Then you play the daddy/And take them to caddy” – and how he should be careful what he wishes for – “Those little tame me’s/To care for/Stay indoors/But careful they could turn out like (me)”. In the final ninety seconds of the song, we hear beats. Throughout, there have been these tribal drums pattering; suggesting Shah is a hunter or someone who is living in the wild. Now, the beats are slightly tinnier, and we reach the final scene. There is a funny/interesting moment when a tortoise – or terrapin – has scarpered and is making his way (slowly) across the carpet. Maybe this represents the tortoise and hare; perhaps it shows that even the tortoise does not want to be around the man – maybe it is something random designed to add extra spice and laughs. Shah smiles and weaves through bodies as she picks up the escaped pet, and the final cuts see Shah at a long table of food, picking it and throwing bits away; she and her man hug and joke and, as the video and song ends, I sort got to wondering. It is clear there is tension and two different people in the relationship but, when thinking about gender roles and how Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love) playas out, I think everyone will get their own impressions. Maybe I have missed the mark of the song or misinterpreted, but I’d like to think I have got close to the heart of the matter. It all bodes well for the future, and the banquet/scenes Shah will bring us – kitchen sink included!

There are some gigs coming up for Nadine Shah. She plays the 6 Music Festival 8th March, and she has other dates booked for the spring and summer. If you can go and see her play, do so. She is a terrific live performer and, with a new single out, many are looking forward to a fresh album. This article from The Quietus gives details about the upcoming album, Kitchen Sink:

“Kitchen Sink sees Shah address societal expectations of women in their 30s and 40s, and is based around her own experience as well as her conversations with a number of other women.

"Essentially I’m writing about so many women that I just love," she says. "The new mothers, the rock stars, the ones doubting themselves who need our support, the ones who are ill but show an indescribable strength. There’s traditions that were set out years ago of how our lives should be and that has changed completely now and I for one am so proud to be a woman and to be surrounded by even greater ones."

Infectious Music will release Kitchen Sink on June 5”.

It is exciting there is an album on its way, and I am sure we will receive another single or two before Kitchen Sink comes out. I will close there, and I hope I have done Nadine Shah justice and got to the root of her new track. I think, when talking about a song like Ladies For Babies (Goats For Love) – or any artist -, it is important to go deeper and not just pen a few lines about the track! Shah is an artist who we should all be listening to so, if you have not followed her on social media and got involved, go and do that now. Once more, with this golden new offering, Nadine Shah has shown why she is…