With the new year all rung in, it’s time to once again round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. Today’s entry is Made Of Bricks by the nu-Lily-Allen Kate Nash, which hits stores in the United States today:
• “But tracks like the synth-pop “Shit Song” could stick in your head for days, and sometimes Nash’s verbosity is a boon: The rushed verses of “Foundations”–in which Nash dissects a couple’s argument–convey sadness and snarkiness at once, and those verses sound pretty inviting, too. Nash seems a little callow, but Bricks is the sound of an eager kid making unconventional pop that works despite–and, sometimes, because of–her overstuffed brain.
” [Rolling Stone]
• “Given time, Nash will probably start distinguishing between anger and peevishness, and figure out which of her terrible boyfriends deserves a song. Going easy on the Web probably wouldn’t hurt.” [New Yorker]
• “‘I’ve got a thousand opinions,’ she sings on Mouthwash, ‘and I’ve got time, time to explain them.’ We’ll be listening.” [USA Today]
• “After one listen to her UK hit “Foundations”, it becomes obvious Kate Nash has a gift for communicating confusing romance with a keen eye for detail and scene-stealing turns of phrase. The single–along with just-a-girl power-pop blast “Mouthwash” and sex-not-love big-beat bouncer “Pumpkin Soup”–is one of the few Made of Bricks tracks that finds Nash’s acutely enunciated words complimented with just the right amount of swirling sonic accoutrements. “My fingertips are holding onto the cracks in our foundation/ I know that I should let go but I can’t,” she sings. Made of Bricks too often tries to smooth over the emotional cracks, breaks and fissures that happen to be Kate Nash’s distinguishing hallmark. Without them, she may as well be any other London newcomer in a bright dress and matching trainers.” [Pitchfork]
Kate Nash [MySpace]
No. No more of this. Please.
In addition to a keen eye for detail, does she also have exceptional organizational skills and work well in a team setting?
So the Pitchfork writers clearly get paid by the word.
@Diglett: She’s also a self-starter.
I can’t BELIEVE RS still uses the word “snarky.”
(I will probably buy the Kate Nash album, if the price is right- I’m easy that way.)
Lily Allen discovered Kate Nash via myspace.
The album is actually quite good.
If the Brits are going to keep hyping artists that are recycled versions of previously successful bands could they at least pick interesting rip-offs? Oh, how I long for some enterprising pretty-boys’ take on early-Suede…
I love how women ‘with plenty to say’ singing plaintive heart on their sleeve lyrics about relationship issues continues to be seen as fresh and new. From pop princesses, to Freestyle, to No Doubt, we’ve heard it all before. Alanis, anyone?
The Streets have a lot to answer for.
I like this album.
I hate her more than cancer.