Kate Nash

Kate Nash

Made of Bricks

(Geffen)

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The 20-year-old singer-songwriter Kate Nash suffers from a flaw common to those her age, said Christian Hoard in Rolling Stone. This darling of British critics, who makes her U.S. debut with Made of Bricks, “hasn’t learned to self-edit.” It’s only natural that she makes a few innocent mistakes. On her cutesy collection of piano ditties, Nash blathers on about everything from CSI to mouthwash, but comes across as “an eager kid making unconventional pop that works despite—and, sometimes, because of—her overstuffed brain.” Nash gives us proof that a “hit song can be as simple, and as complicated, as a casual conversation,” said Kelefa Sanneh in The New York Times. Her first single, “Foundations,” hit No. 2 on the British pop charts, and she soon “made the swift journey from MySpace phenomenon to mainstream star.” It’s a shame that Lily Allen, who also became a music-via-MySpace sensation, beat her to the punch, said Ryan Dombal in Pitchforkmedia.com. Where Allen is the “plainspoken wiseass chick all the guys love to hang around,” Nash is the “plainspoken piano geek” who is overshadowed by her rival. There’s no denying this young woman has a knack for detail and shrewdly infectious refrains. Made of Bricks is filled with “tiny romantic comedies” but often glosses over the “emotional cracks, breaks, and fissures” it should dwell on.