Kate Nash
Made of Bricks
Release Date: Jan 8, 2008
Genre(s): Rock, Pop
Record label: Fiction
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Album Review: Made of Bricks by Kate Nash
Very Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
On a first listen to Kate Nash's debut Made of Bricks, it's easy to hear the similarities to her contemporaries (Lily Allen, the Streets, Amy Winehouse) and influences (Björk, Robbie Williams). Her most popular songs are both intimate and confrontational, using brief portraits and slang-conversational vocals to illustrate the larger issues going on -- the dinner party that exposes a crumbling relationship on "Foundations" or the futility of using "Mouthwash" as a defense against feelings of low self-worth. The music is explosive and sample-driven, but with plenty of ties to contemporary pop, such as the frequent piano runs and occasional chamber brass or woodwinds.
Based on rating B
The U.K. singer-songwriter Kate Nash’s ”mockney” accent and whimsical ditties about lads have earned her some derisive Lily Allen comparisons. Though Nash’s debut Made of Bricks can be weighed down by forced sassiness and whiz-bang effects (applied like lacquer by Bloc Party producer Paul Epworth), her lilting alto and quirky sensibility are ultimately winning.
Based on rating 3.0/5
Review Summary: A good, if confusing debut from the UK's most cherished new talent. Few marketing campaigns have been as blatantly obvious in recent years as the one surrounding Kate Nash. Following the success, both critical and commercial, of Lily Allen, the woman herself earned plenty of column inches and television coverage, becoming something of a style icon and an embassador for young British musicians in the process; and yet she couldn't fully escape criticism that had dogged her since day one.
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