My Best Friend Is You by Kate Nash
My Best Friend Is You is the second album by English singer-songwriter Kate Nash, released in the United Kingdom on 19 April 2010 and elsewhere on 20 April. The album was originally entitled Crayon Full Of Colour but the name was changed due to Paolo Nutini's similar song title at that time, "Pencil Full Of Lead". On 13 April 2010, Kate appeared on John Kennedy's XFM show Xposure, where they did a track-by-track interview playing the whole of the album. The album spawned three official singles: the lead single "Do-Wah-Doo" achieved the most commercial success, charting respectively in European countries. I've Got A Secret was released as a promotional single and the fourth single overall.
Kate Nash hasn’t left the angst of her teenage years behind. Instead she’s sharpened her attacks upon social cruelty and treacherous romance, using both stilettos and meat cleavers as weapons of choice. <i>My Best Friend Is You</i> surrounds the British singer/songwriter with an array of retro motifs, invoking the catty side of ‘60s girl group pop (“Do-Wah-Doo”, “Early Christmas Present”), the hyperactive gush of early punk (“Take Me to a Higher Plane”) and the tortured introspection of lo-fi rock (“You Were So Far Away”). Bernard Butler’s production matches thumping drums with chunky guitars and string washes, achieving particularly seamless results on the luminous “Paris” and the moody “I’ve Got a Secret”. Against these backdrops, Nash digs deep into her psyche to unleash such corrosive testimonies as “Don’t You Want to Share the Guilt?” and “Pickpocket”. “Mansion Song” — a scathing feminist rant paired with a tribal-beat track — rips into sexual stereotypes with real venom. At the other extreme is “I Hate Seagulls”, a love song of surprising fragility and hope.
