Review Summary: Kate Nash's Made of Bricks is a good - but confusing - debut.
Kate Nash's Made of Bricks isn't a bad album. It's quite good, actually, with poppy hooks and lyrical intricacies abounding. While introductory piece "Play" is far too oddly unnerving to use as a proper example, the album picks up with "Foundations." The first single definitely recalls Lily Allen, as is a common observance, but there's enough of Nash in there to make for some differentiation. It's a nice track, bouncy and bubbly, but pales in comparison to the bipolar pop hit (and second single) that is "Mouthwash." While the lyrics are repetitive, this is not a bad thing, serving instead to provide an alternate viewpoint rather than to reflect lack of originality. The choruses are heavenly, with a wave of piano and intense bass overtaking the chill verse and then fading back even as you beg for more.
Made of Bricks isn't a bad album, but it feels limited, even in its insanity. It only has three or so excellent tracks in its twelve-track roster (thirteen if you got that obscure version with "Little Red") and nine good or all right ones. "Dickhead" feels like it should have kept building, "Birds" was good but not great, and "*** Song [Interlude]" is composed of so many ideas that could have been fleshed out into more songs. "Pumpkin Soup," the third single, is nice and driving, but even it pales in comparison to "Mouthwash." Songs like "Skeleton Song" are okay but seem like jokes, as though they should be more interludes than actual songs. It's not until the last (Or second last) song, the superb "Merry Happy," that things really pick up.
"Merry Happy" was the first song that I heard by Nash (it was one of those ending songs on the sit-com "Community") and is one of her absolute best tracks. The piano clangs along catchily and her singing is excellent, as always, but the real hero of the song is the choral "do do do" that rings throughout much of the second half. While Made of Bricks is, overall, okay, I would be willing to buy the entire album, "*** Song [Interlude]" and all, just because of "Merry Happy." The infectious beat and ringing vocals make all the mediocrity before disappear.
There's no question that Kate Nash is incredibly talented, but her songwriting can sometimes bend a little into the strange. On a pop album, that's not always a great thing and due to the fact that this is (or pretends to be) a pop album, I can't rate this higher than a 3.5, but if you're into pseudo-Lily Allen quirk, poppy hooks and pounding piano, this will be right up your alley.
Key Tracks: "Mouthwash," "Merry Happy."
