Kate Nash - The Verdict!

So, the Kate Nash album.

Apart from being one of the most unexpectedly-underwhelming pop events of the year, the release of her album finally gives us a chance to properly address the question that’s been on our lips since January: is Kate Nash amazing or a complete idiot?


The case for the prosecution (ie. she‘s an idiot):

:: At times the air of pretension threatens to destroy the album completely. You get the feeling that Kate Nash thinks she is very clever and would like everyone to know how clever Kate Nash is. Hence bizarre moments like the r-rolling on ‘Mariella’, which would be a much better song were it not for annoyances such as that.

:: ‘Dickhead’ (the song, not Kate). FUCKING HELL.

:: She hasn’t got the business sense to sell songs which obviously don’t suit her style, like ‘Pumpkin Song’, to other artists, preferring instead to stick them on a rushed album.

:: Clearly, she hasn’t learnt any lessons from the awful ‘Caroline Is A Victim’. Album opener and second worst musical moment of the year (after that aforementioned monstrosity) ‘Play’ is evidence of this, and will make you want to kick your speakers in.


The case for the defence (ie. she‘s amazing):

:: She is at least very talented.

:: Album highlight ‘Foundations’ is one of the best songs of the year, by any artist, full stop. A masterpiece of 21st relationship drama, the lyrics are only criticised by people who’ve always been too old, single and boring to understand them. A massive pop moment.

:: She’s got a thousand opinions.

:: In contrast to the decidedly-dubious Remi Nicole, who thinks a reference to Topshop and some bollocks about fighting in pubs makes you ‘real’, Kate Nash writes heartfelt songs that, pretentious or not, have obviously come from the mind of someone who’s lived a little. You’d pretty much have to be a murderer or something not to have a little weep over ‘Birds’.

The Verdict:

When posing our original question, we raised the possibility that Kate Nash was both amazing AND an idiot, and it looks like, ultimately, we got it right. Which means we’re going to have to say she’s amazing, because what proper pop star isn’t slightly idiotic too?

With ‘Made of Bricks’ it is a case of Nash being very good when she’s good and very bad when she’s bad. Which is forgivable on a debut, even in the make or break climate we live in. In songs like ’Foundations’, ’Mouthwash’, ’Birds’ and ’Merry Happy’ she has written some of the most beautiful, heartfelt and endearing tunes likely to emerge this year. Now if we can have more of that, and less of the silly voices, we’ll be on to a winner.