Kate Nash Is Just Fine With Her Dragons and Mushrooms, Thank You

“That gave me the confidence to launch my KickStarter campaign,” she says. “I realized that it was a great thing to continue with music independently, and that the internet would provide me with a way. That’s essentially what I’ve been up to in the past five years.”

Nash’s career itself reads like a comics origin issue. She acquired her songwriting superpowers after breaking her foot falling down the stairs at her parents’ London home. Bedridden with no other diversions, she started strumming an acoustic guitar, then singing in an almost conversational Cockney accent. By 2007, she’d been signed to the posh Fiction imprint, which issued her charming Made of Bricks debut, with flagship singles “Foundations,” “Mouthwash” and “Pumpkin Soup.” The album rocketed to No. 1 on the U.K. chart. And those early tracks hold up, says the artist, who undertook a 10th anniversary Made of Bricks tour across Britain last year—another confidence booster. “I was playing these songs and the audience was so joyous, it really felt like Christmas every day on that tour,” she recalls. “I had this incredible summer where I held a mirror up to myself and just accepted myself fully. I had such a fucking fun time.”

Yesterday Was Forever takes that enthusiasm and runs with it on 14 swaggering, self-assured numbers. It starts with deceptively soft chords on “Life in Pink,” a torn page from her teenage diary that quickly roils into a dissonant, screaming chorus of “What’s wrong with me?” And if you can handle that jarring juxtaposition, then welcome: You’re coming along on Kate’s Krazee Karnival ride, through the tropical “Call Me” (which imagines a fickle suitor six feet under), the buzzing rocker “Take Away” (equating romance with a simple to-go meal for two), the rap-meets-synth-rock experiment “Karaoke Kiss,” the stream-of-consciousness-surreal spoken word cut “Musical Theatre,” and, of course, pop anthems that are this vocalist’s stock in trade, like “Twisted Up” and the monstrous “California Poppies.”

Nash purposely closes the set on the plush power ballad “To the Music I Belong,” she says, because it represents her “ultimate statement.” “The chorus says that the music will never leave you, and it’s a great thing to lean on, because you can happily be in a codependent relationship with music forever, because it only brings you something positive,” she says. “So I went into this record thinking, ‘What do you have to lose?’ Music is so much fun and gives so much, and when you explore it, it’s just such a huge thing. It’s like mushrooms—there are so many different genres and ways to experiment, vocally, sonically or otherwise. Even the times when I thought I couldn’t do this anymore as a job, I’d still pick myself up each day and think, ‘I’m going to try, because music keeps me alive.’”

At this point, Nash doesn’t feel wearied by her challenges. She feels refreshed, and she carefully took note, she adds, of “who stands by you when the shit hits the fan.” And all of her comic-book pals had her back and never deserted her. “And that’s what I love about nerds. The music industry is so full of slick wankers—execs who wish they were in bands, suits trying to pretend they’ve got loads of money when they don’t, or even other bands that don’t want to talk to you because they’re too cool. But nerds are just fucking nerds. They will go out dressed as actual dragons and they don’t give a shit. And they’ll invite you into their world with open arms. It’s such a warm, welcoming world, and I really recommend it to everybody.”

As in, Bazinga?

Nash laughs. “Yeah! Exactly! Bazinga!”

Kate Nash North American Tour Dates
4/4: Vancouver, BC – Imperial
4/5: Seattle, WA – The Showbox
4/7: Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
4/9: San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
4/10: Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
4/12: San Diego, CA – The Observatory – North Park
4/13: Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory OC
4/14: Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
4/16: Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
4/17: Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre
4/19: Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Cafe
4/20: Chicago, IL – Park West
4/21: Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
4/23: Toronto, ON – Mod Club
4/24: Montreal, QC – Theatre Fairmount
4/25: Boston, MA – Royale
4/26: Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
4/28: Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
4/29: Charlotte, NC – The Underground
4/30: Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club
5/2: New York, NY – Irving Plaza