Singles

Kate Nash - Foundations

David Segurola 02/07/2007

Rating: 2/5

Those of you not too comfortable with the grimly inevitable process of dating the opposite sex will be familiar with the good old-fashioned pre-mating ritual pep talk in front of the mirror: “You are the man…YOU are the MAN…you are the maaan…you da man…hey baby”. With Kate Nash's latest single, I find myself doing the music writer's equivalent: “You can review this…be objective, be calm, keep the indie superiority complex suppressed until the second review…c'mon, give her a chance, she might be a red-hot, thesaurus-inducing babe, you never know.”

Although I tried my hardest to approach this single like a slick-haired lothario might approach a busty blonde, and although we would all gladly do sexy wrestling moves on Ms. Nash long into the night, “Foundations” is still essentially forgettable, derivative and tired. Vocally, Nash's twang is comparable to Regina Spektor's cocky over-pronunciation, whilst the music trundles with the type of half-baked nostalgia that thinks the 60s, 70s and 80s was the world's most amazingest fancy dress party.

Lyrically, as characterised by the lilting, utterly fictional “LDN” accent and stance championed by Lily Allen and, to a lesser degree, Jamie T, she either plumbs new depths or reaches new heights, depending upon your viewpoint. Personally, I'd consider the rhyming couplet, “You say I must eat so many lemons, 'cos I am so bitter/I said I would rather be with your friends mate, 'cos they are much fitter” about as interesting, innovative and enjoyable as talking to Tim Henman about a particularly dull luncheon date he had once, in 1995.

Quite overwhelmingly so-so, “Foundations” might make you tap your feet a little but you won't find yourself humming the melody once it's finished. Don't worry; she'll be gone soon.