Amazon.co.uk Review
Kate Nash is the perfect pop starlet. She sounds enough like one existing star to make her an already snug fit for your tastes (if it needs spelling out for you--L.I.L.Y.A.L.L.E.N--there’s no getting away from the thematic and elocutionary parallels, no matter how much the lady doth protest). She’s ordinary-ish. She’s you, your girlfriend, that girl over there you adore/admire, only clearly cuter and packed with a sharper tongue. She sings of nothing much, but sings it with juicy vim and bright expressions through a deliciously theatrical voice-box, a hangover from her stage school background that faltered, leading her to channel her wit and personality into writing songs. A sprinkling of anarchy too--something for the parents to disapprove of? Well, she’s got a filthy mouth and a frankly blasé grasp of the Queen’s English. It’s a shame really that she’s not quite made the perfect pop debut to match, but
Made of Bricks is a damn fine first run, when it gets it right. The jerky prelude to the album proper, "Play" reminds briefly of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Bis, segueing into the Lily Allen plays Carter USM playfulness of "Foundations". "Dickhead" is a silly, smoky blues ditty, the massive, gyrating "Pumpkin Song" is Sugababes with their hair pulled behind the bike sheds, key-hammering highlight "Mariella" reminds of expressive vaudeville New Yorkers the Dresden Dolls and "We Get On" could be a Grease outtake, though nothing the innocent Olivia Newton John would ever wrap her lips around. Like Lily Allen then, but not that much. --
James Berry
Review
It would be very easy to dislike Kate Nash's Made Of Bricks. The debut album of a wannabe stage school girl who only turned to music to keep herself amused while recovering from a broken foot has disaster written all over it. Throw in her begging-to-be-mocked scenester anthem and first single "Caroline's A Victim" plus the 'Lily Allen's MySpace friend' tag, and the house that Kate built would appear to rest on very shaky foundations indeed.
However any fears are somewhat unfounded. For a 20-year-old, Nash has constructed an album of surprising verve and variety. Whether breaking into spoken word over beats on opener "Play" or, displaying her dainty side on the jaunty piano-driven "We Get On", she displays a unique tone and style. Let's be honest, it's all delivered in a singing voice that would hardly charm sailors to their death but no matter, it's Nash's lyrics which take precedent here.
At times her honesty and self deprecation are startling and her words bristle with the intimacy of a private diary entry. Whether the tortured secret longing of "Nicest Thing" - 'I wish I was your favourite girl/ I wish you thought I was the reason you are in the world' or literally laying herself bare on "Mouthwash" - it's a revealing ride.
However, at times Kate's simplistic soul baring is also her undoing, especially when it slips into the mundane territory of making tea. The same colloquial style that makes her charming can also make her somewhat dull and a propensity to swear at every turn occasionally breaks the spell.
Nash is to be praised for using Regina Spektor's piano riffing and vocal eccentricity as her template and combined with Paul Epworth's fine production ear, she's constructed an album which despite its flaws is one of this year's more interesting offerings. --Roman Tagoe
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