Ok, so maybe I'm biased because Kate Nash might just be my favourite female singer at the moment. "Foundations" made me sit up and pay attention, but it was the rest of her songs that had me smitten. I love her voice, her song writing talent, and her lyrics. So naturally, I am going to jump to her defence when people compare her (unfavourably) to Lily Allen - a ridiculous comparison because apart from the fact they both sing in an accent and are both female solo artists, the similarities between them are few. It's typical of mainstream reviews to lump all female "pop" artists in the same neat little pigeon hole.
I do not class Kate Nash as a pop artist, and in fact I think the main problem with this album is that they clearly tried to market her as just that - a pop singer, with a pop album. As a result tracks have been polished up, made more "radio friendly" - a huge mistake because it is Kate Nash at her rawest and most exposed that is the most brilliant.
"Nicest Thing", "Mariella", "We Get On" and "Merry Happy/Little Red" perfectly sum up why I adore her - she sounds incredible when the songs aren't messed around! And yet whilst still good, if you compare songs like "Birds", "Mouthwash" and "Skeleton Song" to the respect demo/live versions (which you can still finding floating around in cyberspace....) then you realise just how short they've been sold on the album. "Play", "D**khead" and "S**t Song" would and should have served as a much needed injection of personality and attitude IF they hadn't have been given the studio treatment. As they are on the album, frankly they just annoy me.
All in all the album is a somewhat frustrating mix of crap tinsel-pop and mind-blowing brilliance. Admittedly Kate Nash is a bit of a marmite girl - either love her or hate her. I know plently of people that can't stand her style of singing, but I love it purely because it's not normal, it's not boring, it's pure personality and attitude. I also have a great personal affection for her songs; for me she just seems able to able to write lyrics that describe perfectly how it feels to be young, confused, in love, out of love and all the deliciously messy bits in between.
In my opinion her second album is much, MUCH better at showing us who Kate Nash really is, even though Made Of Bricks is a good debut, it does smack of a lack of conviction and confidence in her own sound. That said, I still think it's a fantastic album in its own right. Ok, so I'm biased, but who cares? 4/5