BY CHERYL CHENG
Kate Nash
My Best Friend is You
Polydor/Fiction
When Kate Nash first appeared on the music scene, she was a cute, Regina Spektor-like presence who sang songs about heartbreak and first loves. The cover of her debut album, Made of Bricks, features her walking toward a cartoon-like cottage in a swingy red dress; she was adorable with a capital A. Fast-forward three years later, and Kate has changed her tune somewhat. For her sophomore effort, My Best Friend Is You, she has become slightly more serious. Produced by Suede's Bernard Butler, the album features such surprising tracks as "I Love You More," which has Kate howling and screaming, and probably even more shocking, "Mansion House," in which she quasi raps a list of what ails her. Taking on such issues as sexual inequality, Kate clearly has a message—and one that involves more than her love life.
First single "Do-Wah-Doo" is akin to Kate's earlier material, telling the story of a boy she fancies who is interested in another girl. "I'll just read a book instead, I don't care if we're just friends, I'll just hang out with myself," she sings in her typical self-deprecating fashion, one that was popular on such earlier pop songs as "We Get On." But "Do-Wah-Doo" is somewhat different from previous tracks in that it's influenced by such '60s doo-wop acts as The Supremes. "Kiss That Grrrl" also has a similar doo-wop sound, but despite the spelling of "grrrl," which references the riot grrrl movement of the '90s that promoted feminist ideas, this song is anything but. "Kiss that girl and I will shrink up and I will die," she sings—not exactly empowering. In this case, it sounds rather confusing—who is the victim and who is the strong feminist grrrl?
The everyday musings in "I Hate Seagulls" are more classic Nash. "I hate picking off the scab a little bit too early," she shares in her signature offbeat way. As with "Seagulls," when Kate doesn't try to take on too much, the songs mostly work. "Pickpocket" is just as enjoyable, with the piano accompaniment a key to why it works.
Though ambitious, Kate might have taken on more than she could handle in My Best Friend Is You. The transition from innocent, naïve pop songs to an angst-ridden, riot grrrl sound is surprising at best and seemingly disingenuous at worst. Further damaging is the pitch and tone of Kate's voice, which doesn't carry a serious message very far—it sounds too much like a young adolescent trying to be taken seriously. Moreover, the mix of these more serious tracks with her trademark pop songs is jarring, causing My Best Friend Is You to lack cohesion. If now asked to describe Kate Nash's sound, I would be at a bit of a loss, but there's always the third album to see what's next.
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