Making a follow up to a debut that went platinum in her native UK make seem like a challenge to some, but for Kate Nash the effort seems to have gone over with no trouble at all. Her sophomore release, My Best Friend is You will be out tomorrow, April 19th on Polydor offshoot Fiction Records. Already Nash as released a few songs from the album online, as well as a video for the track, “Do Wah Doo”.
With those two tracks in mind, sitting down to listen to the full album is a pleasant divergence from what the songs imply the record will sound like. All the things we loved about Kate in her debut Made of Bricks are present- her auctioneer like ability to speedily sing and rhyme, the quirky keys arrangement, and tongue in cheek choice of words. But what differs between that first release and this one is the over all style in these songs. Doo-wop, garage rock, and rockabilly-esque sounds fill My Best Friend is You while Made of Bricks took on a more theatrical tone with hints of hip-hop production.
From its start with opening track “Paris” we get a lively dose of indie pop-rock, complete with catchy choruses and cute lines like, “You said you’d lend me anything, I think I’ll have your company”. Orchestrated builds and beachy Vampire Weekend-esque guitar riffs fill “Kiss That Grrl” and Kate keeps up her reputation for never merely wallowing in heartache, but instead of avenging herself through quip-y retorts and humor.
‘Don’t You Want to Share the Guilt’ is a good example of Nash’s talent at delivering what would otherwise be considered long winded lyrics, but with her perfectly paced vocals this song’s momentary srteam of conscious is pulled off without a hitch. Songs “Take Me to a Higher Plane” and “You Were So Far Away” remind us of Kimya Dawson in their choice of melody, the former of which was an album favorite for us because of its folksy indie style and pretty harmonies blanketed by girl rock shouts. “Pickpocket”, while a very nice song in its own right, was reminiscent to us of the hidden track found on Made of Bricks in amore up beat incarnation, making it hard for us to focus on it as a new track.
Nonetheless Nash keeps up her reputation for creative originality through the spoken word and drum circle beats of “Mansion Song” depicting debauchery and sexual machismo, finishing up with some screams and the young singer/songwriter crooning, “I will be a lady and I will be a lady, and I will never let you”.
Another favorite on the album is the final song, “I Hate Seagulls” for its stop and start guitar, simple vocals, and nicely laid out lyrics in which the singer first gives a string of statements saying “I hate…” then countering them with ones of “I like…”.
Though we weren’t big fans of the howling, crowing “I Just Love You More” that Nash was earlier offering for free download before the record’s release, My Best Friend is You proved to do anything but disappoint. We predict that Nash will be seeing just as much, if not more recognition for this album as the last, and sincerely look forward to her upcoming U.S. tour to check these tracks out live.
Tags: Album Review, International, New Music, Upcoming Release, Upcoming Shows
April 27, 2010 at 2:49 pm |
nice lyrics