My Best Friend Is You

My Best Friend Is You
Studio album by Kate Nash
Released 19 April 2010
Genre Indie pop, indie rock
Length 49:20
Label Geffen/Fiction
Producer Bernard Butler, Jay Malhotra, Kate Nash
Kate Nash chronology

Made of Bricks
(2007)
My Best Friend Is You
(2010)
Girl Talk
(2013)
Singles from My Best Friend Is You
  1. "Do-Wah-Doo"
    Released: 12 April 2010
  2. "Kiss That Grrrl"
    Released: 12 July 2010
  3. "Later On"
    Released: 18 October 2010[1]
  4. "I've Got a Secret"
    Released: 20 March 2011[2][3]

My Best Friend Is You[4] is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Kate Nash, released in the United Kingdom on 19 April 2010 and elsewhere on 20 April.[5] The album was originally entitled Crayon Full Of Colour[6] 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.

Singles

Tracks

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 69/100[12]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [13]
Entertainment Weekly (B+)[14]
Drowned In Sound (7/10)[15]
The Guardian [16]
The Irish Times (favorable)[17]
Mojo [18]
NME (7/10)[18]
Pitchfork Media (7.8/10)[19]
Q [18]
Uncut [18]

The album was generally met with positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, a review aggregator which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[12] Allmusic granted the album 3 stars out of 5, noting it sounded "professional" and compared the album's sound with Amy Winehouse's, yet also commented "the aim of much of [My Best Friend Is You] seems to be simply getting Kate Nash airplay without worrying overly much about a musical backing that suits her songwriting."[13] Andrzej Lukowski of Drowned in Sound denotes confusion on the album sounding "both indie and universal" and called the album "rather daring" for a "mainstream album".[15] The Guardian granted four out of five stars, praising Nash' growth as an artist.[16] The Irish Times named the album their "Album of the Week" and called it "a considerable step from its predecessor".[17]

Artwork

The official artwork for the sleeve leaked on 17 March 2010 appearing first on Kuwaiti music blog Loft965.com.[20]

On 9 April 2010, Nash took part in a timesonline.co.uk web chat. When asked a question about the album's artwork she replied:

"It's been pretty stressful getting all the artwork together on this album because I've cared so much about it and had so many ideas and wanted it to be perfect for my second record. I worked with a lady called Kate Gibb who does screen printing, we screen printed a bunch of photos and some of my own objects to create collages inspired by images that I collected and loved, they varied from the bauhaus art movement to punk and lo fi record covers because I love the simplicity in those. I've just got through all the final artwork and it was worth the hardwork because I love how it looks. I try to be as involved as possible in every single aspect of what I do so that it represents me properly and because it's fun and I care and I'm a control freak."[21]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Paris"  Kate NashBernard Butler 3:04
2. "Kiss That Grrrl"  NashButler 3:41
3. "Don't You Want To Share The Guilt?"  NashButler 5:05
4. "I Just Love You More"  NashButler 3:05
5. "Do-Wah-Doo"  NashButler 2:32
6. "Take Me To A Higher Plane"  NashButler 3:20
7. "I've Got a Secret"  NashButler 2:39
8. "Mansion Song"  NashJay Malholtra, Nash 3:22
9. "Early Christmas Present"  NashButler 3:08
10. "Later On"  NashButler 3:34
11. "Pickpocket"  NashButler 3:21
12. "You Were So Far Away"  NashButler 3:26
13. "I Hate Seagulls" (Silence From 4:13 until 7:11 – then hidden track begins: "My Best Friend Is You")NashButler 8:50
14. "R n B Side" (US iTunes Bonus Track)NashButler 2:13
Scrapbook Edition DVD
No. Title Length
1. "I Wanna Be a Frozen Pea" (Interview) 14:43
2. "Track-By-Track"   9:02
3. "Tour Highlights" ("I Just Love You More" is the background song) 3:09

Personnel

Primary musicians
Additional musicians
Production personnel
Additional personnel

Chart performance

The album charted respectively at number 8 and 26 on the UK Album Chart and the Irish Albums Chart in its first week, however quickly dropped in its second week to number 39 and 40. It charted at number 62 on the Billboard 200 and number 6 in the German Album Charts.

Chart (2010)[22][23] Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart 50
Belgian Albums Chart 35
Dutch Albums Chart 47
European Top 100 Albums Chart 28
French Albums Chart 71
German Albums Chart 6
Irish Albums Chart 26
Swiss Albums Chart 23
UK Albums Chart 8
US Billboard 200 62

Tour

On her website, Nash announced she would be touring from 26 May 2010, till end of 2010.

Date City Country Venue
Europe
26 May 2010 Berlin Germany Germany Astra
27 May 2010 Dresden Alter Schlachthof
28 May 2010 Hamburg Gr. Freiheit
30 May 2010 Landgraaf Netherlands Netherlands Pinkpop
31 May 2010 Koln Germany Germany Essigfabrik
1 June 2010 Paris France France La Cigalle
2 June 2010 Strasbourg Le Laiterie
4 June 2010 Nürburgring Germany Germany Rock am Ring
2 June 2010 Nuremberg Rock im Park
7 June 2010 Amsterdam Netherlands Netherlands Paradiso
8 June 2010 Brussels Belgium Belgium Botanique/Orangerie
10 June 2010 Salzburg Austria Austria Rockhouse
11 June 2010 Nickelsdorf Novarock Festival
25 June 2010 Gloucester United Kingdom United Kingdom Guildhall
26 June 2010 Glastonbury Glastonbury Festival
6 July 2010 London iTunes Festival
10 July 2010 Balado T in the Park, Kinross
11 July 2010 Naas Republic of Ireland Ireland Oxegen Racefestival
North America
17 July 2010 Chicago United States United States Lilith Fair
18 July 2010 Minneapolis
20 July 2010 Indianapolis
21 July 2010 Detroit
Australia
1 August 2010 Woodford Australia Australia Splendour in the Grass
4 August 2010 Melbourne Corner Hotel
5 August 2010 Sydney Metro Theatre
Europe
20 August 2010 Hasselt-Kiewit Belgium Belgium Pukkelpop
5 September 2010 Trinity Jersey Jersey Royal Jersey Showground
14 September 2010 Copenhagen Denmark Denmark VEGA
North America
22 November 2010 Mexico City Mexico Mexico José Cuervo Salón
South America
24 February 2011 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Brazil Circo Voador
25 February 2011 São Paulo HSBC Hall
27 February 2011 Buenos Aires Argentina Argentina Teatro Gran Rex
Europe
13 April 2011 İstanbul Turkey Turkey Babylon
20 April 2011 Glasgow Scotland Scotland O2 ABC Glasgow

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Praxis Media. "Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: UK Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples Downloads". Radio1.gr. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Nash, Kate (2011-03-19). "Kate Nash: My Ignorant Youth: Tour Tour Tour!". Myignorantyouth.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Kate Nash - I'Ve Got A Secret - Ltd Edition Tour Vinyl". Katenash.sandbag.uk.com. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  4. wotyougot.com. 1 March 2010
  5. "Kate Nash reveals album tracklisting". Digital Spy. 12 February 2010
  6. "Kate Nash Announces New Album Details", Rock on the Streets.com, 12 February 2010
  7. "Kate Nash Announces New Tour And Makes Some Videos", Addict Music, 23 February 2010
  8. View on YouTube
  9. "Kiss That Grrrl by Kate Nash Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  10. "Kate Nash". Facebook. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  11. Nash, Kate (2011-03-18). "Kate Nash: My Ignorant Youth: The After-School Club Tour". Myignorantyouth.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  12. 12.0 12.1 My Best Friend Is You at Metacritic
  13. 13.0 13.1 Bush, John. "Review: My Best Friend Is You". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  14. Leah Greenblatt (14 April 2010). "Music Review: My Best Friend Is You". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Andrzej Lukowski (20 April 2010). "Kate Nash: My Best Friend Is You". Drowned In Sound. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  16. 16.0 16.1 Caroline Sullivan (15 April 2010). "Kate Nash: My Best Friend Is You". Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Brian Boyd (16 April 2010). "CD of the Week - The Irish Times - Fri, April 16, 2010 - Kate Nash: My Best Friend Is You". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 "AnyDecent Music - Review Aggregate: Kate Nash: My Best Friend Is You".
  19. Marc Hogan (29 April 2010). "My Best Friend Is You: Kate Nash". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  20. "Kate Nash's cover art for "My Best Friend Is You"", Loft965.com, 18 March 2010
  21. "The Culture Clinic live web chat: Kate Nash answers your questions", Times Online, 30 March 2010
  22. "Kate Nash - My Best Friend Is You - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
  23. "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-10-07.