KATE NASH - Made of Bricks

By Simon Howell - A Listening Ear - 01/08/2008

UK chart pop is a considerably more idiosyncratic realm than its North American equivalent, at least on the surface. Its stars have always been able to get away with greater eccentricities along with their predictably slick aspects. The majority of the pop stars and semi-stars of the last five years that have exhibited significant deviance from cultural norms have been British, whether they're aggressively flamboyant (Mika), subtly creepy (James Blunt), politically active (M.I.A.) or unusually human (Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse). Kate Nash is the most recent in this latest wave of UK pop hopefuls -- where it was once nearly impossible to cross the great divide in a significant way (ask Robbie Williams), people are so starved for non-homogenous voices that anything seems possible.

If Nash is going to find success in the Americas it'll be on the basis of "Foundations," the lead-off track and by far the most effective song on the entire album, a clear-minded and catchy meditation on a failed relationship. It finds the right midway point between Nash's seemingly natural state -- the regal if blunt singer-songwriter -- and the sonic whirl brought in by producer (and on two tracks, co-writer) Paul Epworth. Quality levels drop exponentially after the initial success of "Foundations," as the lyrics get less witty and more inane for the most part. “Mouthwash”’s chorus ("I use mouthwash / and sometimes I floss / I've got a family / and I drink cups of tea") is destines to be added to the pantheon of awful UK pop lyrics, along with Des'ree's "Life" and Oasis' immortal rhyme of "plasticine" and "trampoline" on "Little James." The music suffers from diminishing returns too -- they seem to yearn for simpler treatments than the production offers, and yet there's the sense that without the pomp they might vanish into thin air. Other tracks offer promise only to be dashed by an irritating turn, like "Mariella"'s nauseating "never ever ever ever ever ever…" ending. Yet every ten minutes or so we get a glimpse of actual wit, as with the ending of "Birds," when Nash's vocal hits just the right note to express her protagonist's confused admiration for her boyfriend's avian analogy for their romance. If she can harness her natural abilities without falling prey to her more irritating impulses (or getting produced into oblivion), Nash may yet find an appropriate place in the often-baffling twin realms that have been so elusive for many would-be success stories in the past.

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