Unfortunately the new Australian release of this album goes on for a few songs too many and while Nash mightn’t have fully mastered the scene, it’ll be cool to see what comes from her next. And if you ask me (and you are), she sure as shit deserves some kudos for giving it a shot.
Made Of Bricks, My Best Friend Is You, Girl Talk: one of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong. Yep, the once indie-pop diva is no more as Kate Nash takes a detour toward something nostalgic of ’90s punk feminism. While the crowdfunded album mightn’t meet the calibre of the old riot grrrls in either skill or philosophy, it’s heartening and totally fucking awesome for it to be attempted in the mainstream. She reps the feminist attitude without a care (take that Katy Perry!) and the song ‘All Talk’ is proof of her new found fuck-you attitude: “I’m a feminist / And if that offends you / Then fuck you!”
It’s almost unimaginable to place the old Nash in this persona, but once you learn that the Brit girl’s been hanging with JD Samson of Le Tigre it suddenly all makes sense. And Samson must have made something of an impression, ’cause the punk-garage-rock stylings seem to have rubbed off in tracks ‘Fri-End?’ and ‘Sister’, which see Nash sounding almost like the reincarnation of Kathleen Hanna herself.
But though she might be channelling Bikini Kill, Hole, Garbage, Magic Dirt and The Runaways, you needn’t be a punk princess to enjoy this one; Girl Talk hasn’t lost the pop harmonies for which we know the old Nash. Despite this record dipping its fingers into a number of pies – sometimes sounding like Kimya Dawson, other times rapping (really) – most of her long-time fans should still dig it.
3/5 stars
BY RACHEL EDDIE
Girl Talk is out now throughHave 10P Records/INgrooves
