Kate Nash- Made of Bricks (2007) VBR

Kate Nash- Made of Bricks

Year 2007

Tracks
1. Paris
2. Kiss That Grrrl
3. Don't You Want To Share The Guilt?
4. I Just Love You More
5. Do Wah Doo
6. Take Me To A Higher Plane
7. I've Got A Secret
8. Mansion Song
9. Early Christmas Present
10. Later On
11. Pickpocket
12. You Were So Far Away
13. I Hate Seagulls

When she released her debut "Made of bricks" in 2007, comparisons were made between Kate Nash and fellow Brit Lily Allen, especially as both found initial fame online, Allen's plugging of Nash, as well as the British-sounding Pop both produced.
While Allen headed in a more Electro Pop direction for her sophomore, Nash has hooked up with producer Bernard Butler (Duffy, Sharleen Spiteri), and the sound this time is sixties Pop/Rock and girl groups like the Shirelles or Shangri-Las; jangling/chiming guitars, brass, strings, and lushly layered harmonies. The hand clap-filled "Paris", the incredibly catchy "Kiss that grrrl" ("I bet she doesn't like to eat, I bet her feet don't even stink" she sings about some girl she's afraid is about to snatch her guy), "Don't you want to share the guilt" (with a subtle acoustic intro and coda with a verbose stream), the Phil Spector-ish lead-off single "Do-wah-doo", and the lovely "Later on" (in which she declares "I used my body and his desperation") best epitomise this.
Her arcebic wit is still very much on display, and a few songs, "Early Christmas present", and the acoustic ballad "I hate seagulls" (in which she declares her dislike for just about everything), are nearest in sound to her debut, though there is no Dance/Pop like "Pumpkin soup" or "S*** song". Hidden at the end is the brief acoustic title track, inspired she says by her grandparents who have been married for 57 years.
Where she really stretches herself are on a trio of songs; the Punk "I just wanna love you more" (with sparse lyrics repeated continuously interspersed with squeals, yells and humming which get more fevered as the song progresses, against a buzzing, squealing and reverbing guitar backdrop), the messy psychedelic "I've got a secret" (with dreamy vocals, fuzzy guiitars and electronic fluorishes), and "Mansion song" (which starts off as an expletive-filled tirade fired at male musicians who take advantage of female fans, before skeletal beats and playground/cheerleader-style chants come in).