| BEST 2010 ALBUMS: #9. KATE NASH - 'My Best Friend Is You' |
| Written by Shahlin Graves | |||
| Friday, 31 December 2010 13:33 | |||
#9. KATE NASH - My Best Friend Is You  Okay so I take back my earlier proclamation this year of 'My Best Friend Is You' reigning supreme in 2010, but for KATE NASH to hole away for three years and return with a sophomore album that vivaciously experiments with everything from doo-wop pop influences, to a spoken word piece, grandiose instrumentation and psychotic banshee-wails, Nash surely deserves to be recognised for her fearlessness in daring to explore sounds that many of her peers violently shy away in fear of. 'Kiss That Grrrl' is so my jam. Trust Kate to tear pages out of female-kind's assorted diaries - "kiss that girl and I will shrink up, and I will die and I will think up, a thousand ways that I can hurt you, and you will never touch my hand" - and dress the polemic up as a comforting embrace, shared from one kindred spirit to another. Opening track 'Paris' is scored against a background of merry brass and strings flourishes, topped off with handclaps galore and Nash's trademark lyrical irony. Kate's thoughts continue to rattle around in her head throughout the album, culminating in Kate Nash v2.0's crown jewel, the candid 'Mansion Song', which references 'Gone With The Wind' in a feminist diatribe. This is sing-a-long poetry at its best... and I can't wait to see these songs live (in Australia, cross fingers)! MUST-LISTEN: 'Kiss That Grrrl', 'Paris', 'Pickpocket', 'Take Me To A Higher Plane', 'Do-Wah-Doo'. YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: The Pipettes, Regina Spektor, The Like, Karen O, The Supremes... and Motown Records albums on vinyl. MUST-WATCH: Kate Nash's 'Kiss That Grrrl' music video...  |
