Chris Beaumont

beaumont@ifa.hawaii.edu
2680 Woodlawn Drive
Honolulu, HI 96822

Kate Nash "Made of Bricks" Review

Written January 20, 2008

Kate Nash’s debut album “Made of Bricks” was released in the US on January 8, following its UK release last summer.

Nash’s piano pop is reminiscent of bands like Jack’s Mannequin, but her musical signature is her voice. Her articulate, punchy vocals sound like an edgier, British Regina Spektor, while her lyrics mix Spektor’s quirkiness with the kind of self-conscious indignation found in an Ani DiFranco line. There isn’t too much on the album that’s completely her own, but this blend of sounds and moods seems to work.

Nash’s lyrics strike a good balance between the articulate and the mundane, the quirky and sincere. Mouthwash is a great insecurity song: “This is my face, covered in freckles, with the occasional spot and some veins…and this, this is my brain. Its tortuous analytical thoughts make me go insane.” Juxtapose those reflective lyrics with the next song, Dickhead: “Thirty five people couldn’t count on two hands/the amount of times you’ve made me stop/stop and make me think why you are being such a dickhead for.”

Like most indie-pop, Nash’s songs primarily fixate on conflict within relationships. However, unlike many artists, Nash’s blend of moods and styles keep her lyrics or melodies from repeating one another. Equally impressive is her ability to sound like she means what she sings, avoiding unintended clichés.

Perhaps her most sincere song, The Nicest Thing, comes only after an album of refusing to take herself too seriously. Only after you hear Nash’s confessions in the early album (“I’m far too loud/It’s like, as soon as I have an opinion/it just has to come out”) can you appreciate the honesty and tragedy in her laments in The Nicest Thing: “I wish I was your favorite girl/I wish you thought I was the reason you are in the world/ I wish my smile was your favorite kind of smile.”

Whether she is being playful, angry, or just mean, Kate Nash consistently articulates personal and interpersonal struggles that many will resonate with. While her musical idiosyncrasies may be off-putting for some, many more will find much to relate to in her lyrics.