Kate Nash: My Best Friend is You

Kate Nash’s latest is bratty Brit-pop with a heavy accent and, at times, equally heavy subject matter. 2007’s Made of Bricks saw her puckering: “You said I must eat so many lemons ‘cause I am so bitter / I said I’d rather be with your friends, mate, ‘cause they are much fitter.” My Best Friend is You is peppered with pettiness, too, but it’s a little more grown-up—and way more amped-up.

In the spoken-word rant that opens “Mansion Song,” Nash trades boys for politics, touting her disgust with the sex-for-work ethic like a freshman English major: “I can get fucked like the best of men / Like the best of men, like the worst of pain inflicted on a another young girl again.” The music is quicker and dirtier here too—lots of electric-sampling, off-tempo ska-beats and screams sprinkled amidst the clean guitar, marching drums and piano. It’s catchy without being annoying, and even the more dour songs put a little jump-rope swagger in your step; there’s never been a more upbeat declaration of “later on I’ll cry my stupid eyes out.” Nash’s biggest strength is simple: She forces herself into your head and you’re more than willing to make room for her.