Nadine Shah releases her new album Holiday Destination. Shah is a second-generation immigrant - she states that she was born in England and is very English, but is also culturally Muslim. The album explores pertinent, difficult topics from global issues such as the Calais refugee crisis and the Syrian civil war, to the more personal problems of inner turmoil surrounding the pressure of social conforming, the state of our mental health and simply encouraging others to have empathy...

On a first listen, Nadine Shah's album Holiday Destination is an interesting collection of songs. But scratch the surface and delve into the inner workings of each track and you soon realise that the messages at its core are incredible deep and powerful.

The album contains 10 songs (50 min, 11 sec) with personal highlights being the title track 'Holiday Destination'; 'Evil'; 'Ordinary'; 'Mother Fighter'; and 'Jolly Sailor' - all of which show off the various aspects of Shah's incredible vocal range.

It's an engaging and interesting album which grows on you the more times you listen to it.

8

Nick Smithson