My Best Friend Is You

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.

"Later On (song)" redirects here. For the Swon Brothers song, see Later On (The Swon Brothers song).

My Best Friend Is You
Studio album by
Kate Nash
Released19 April 2010 (2010-04-19)
StudioRAK Studios · Studio 355 (London)
GenreIndie pop, indie rock
Length49:20
LabelGeffen/Fiction
ProducerBernard 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]

Singles
  • "Do-Wah-Doo" was the first single from the album. Nash confirmed on her blog that she filmed the music video for the single on 18 February 2010; "I shot the video for Do-Wah-Doo last week on Thursday and it was so so much fun! The best fun I ever had on a video shoot. It stars a lot of my wonderful friends who are pretty much amazing. I wrote the treatment almost a year ago, it's a love story set on a plane in the late 50s, for some reason the idea has always been in my head."[7] Nash also posted some pictures of the video shoot, showing her and her friends (including photographer and close friend Wesley Goode, who starred in Nash's video for "Pumpkin Soup") on a plane. The music video was available from 4 March 2010.[8] The single charted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and number 36 in Ireland. The single also received a considerable amount of chart success in European countries such as Belgium and Germany.
  • "Kiss That Grrrl" was the second single release.[9] It follows the 60s-girlband theme that her recent singles have had, and nods to Nash's fondness to girl groups such as the Shirelles, the Chiffons and the Ronettes. It is also a reference to the riot grrrl scene of the early 1990s. The song received mixed reviews and the music video received generally negative reviews from critics. It was a commercial failure, charting just outside the top 200 on the UK Singles Chart.
  • "Later On" was confirmed as the third single by Nash on her Facebook page, stating that she had filmed the video and thought it might be the best video yet.[10] It was released on 18 October 2010 and promoted mainly through her UK tour on the week of the singles release.[1]
  • "I've Got a Secret" was issued as the fourth and final single from My Best Friend Is You, confirmed by Nash on her My Ignorant Youth blog. Nash stated that a physical vinyl single would be available, like "Later On", through the second leg of her UK tour, which began on 20 March 2011, entitled the After-School Club Tour.[2][11] The single contains the b-side "Kate & Breasts Intro Duck Ton Song Tour 2010".[3]

Tracks
  • "I Just Love You More" was made available on Nash's official website for free digital download. The song was previewed on radio station XFM, on which it received a mostly positive reaction from listeners.
  • A demo version of "Don't You Want to Share the Guilt?" appeared as a B-side on the single "Merry Happy" from the previous album Made of Bricks.
  • "I Hate Seagulls" and "Pickpocket" were both played at intimate venues in 2008 while Kate was still promoting the previous album. They were posted on YouTube and received many views before being confirmed as new tracks for the album.

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
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

All tracks are written by Kate Nash.

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Paris"Bernard Butler3:04
2."Kiss That Grrrl"Butler3:41
3."Don't You Want To Share The Guilt?"Butler5:05
4."I Just Love You More"Butler3:05
5."Do-Wah-Doo"Butler2:32
6."Take Me To A Higher Plane"Butler3:20
7."I've Got a Secret"Butler2:39
8."Mansion Song"Jay Malholtra, Nash3:22
9."Early Christmas Present"Butler3:08
10."Later On"Butler3:34
11."Pickpocket"Butler3:21
12."You Were So Far Away"Butler3:26
13."I Hate Seagulls" (Silence From 4:13 until 7:11 – then hidden track begins: "My Best Friend Is You")Butler8:50
14."R n B Side" (US iTunes Bonus Track)Butler2:13
Scrapbook Edition DVD
No.TitleLength
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
  • Kate Nash – vocals on all tracks; guitar on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12 and 13; piano on tracks 5, 9, 10 and 11; percussion on tracks 5, 9, 11 and 14; keyboards on tracks 5, 9 and 11; drums on tracks 7 and 8; synthesizers on tracks 10 and 14; organ on track 10; string arrangements on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6; production and mixing on tracks 8 and 14; engineering assistance on track 9; engineering and mixing on track 14; art direction
  • Jay Malhotra – bass on tracks 2, 3, 6 and 7; guitar on tracks 4, 7 and 10; glockenspiel and ukulele on track 3; production, engineering and mixing on track 8
  • Bernard Butler – synthesizers on 4, 9, 10 and 11; bass on tracks 1, 5 and 9; bongos on tracks 5 and 10; organ on tracks 5 and 12; acoustic guitar on track 5; production, engineering and mixing on all tracks except 8 and 9
  • Elliott Andrews – drums on all tracks except 8, 9 and 14
  • Brett Alaimo – guitar on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7
  • Ian Burdge – cello on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 11 and 13
Additional musicians
  • Jon Jackson – guitar on tracks 2, 6 and 7; bass on tracks 4 and 10
  • Bruce White – viola on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6
  • Ali Dods – violin on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6
  • Everton Nelson – violin on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6
  • Louisa Fuller – violin on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6
  • Sonia Slaney – violin on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6
  • Sally Herbert – string arrangements on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6
  • Ryan Jarman – violin solo on "My Best Friend Is You"
Production personnel
  • Richard Woodcraft – engineering on all tracks except 8 and 9
  • Robbie Nelson – engineering on all tracks except 8 and 9
  • Adie Kaye – engineering assistance on all tracks
  • Chris Potter – mastering
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 Astra
27 May 2010 Dresden Alter Schlachthof
28 May 2010 Hamburg Gr. Freiheit
30 May 2010 Landgraaf Netherlands Pinkpop
31 May 2010 Cologne Germany Essigfabrik
1 June 2010 Paris France La Cigalle
2 June 2010 Strasbourg Le Laiterie
4 June 2010 Nürburgring Germany Rock am Ring
2 June 2010 Nuremberg Rock im Park
7 June 2010 Amsterdam Netherlands Paradiso
8 June 2010 Brussels Belgium Botanique/Orangerie
10 June 2010 Salzburg Austria Rockhouse
11 June 2010 Nickelsdorf Novarock Festival
25 June 2010 Gloucester 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 Ireland Oxegen Racefestival
North America
17 July 2010 Chicago United States Lilith Fair
18 July 2010 Minneapolis
20 July 2010 Indianapolis
21 July 2010 Detroit
Australia
1 August 2010 Woodford Australia Splendour in the Grass
4 August 2010 Melbourne Corner Hotel
5 August 2010 Sydney Metro Theatre
Europe
20 August 2010 Hasselt-Kiewit Belgium Pukkelpop
5 September 2010 Trinity Jersey Royal Jersey Showground
14 September 2010 Copenhagen Denmark VEGA
North America
22 November 2010 Mexico City Mexico José Cuervo Salón
South America
24 February 2011 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Circo Voador
25 February 2011 São Paulo HSBC Hall
27 February 2011 Buenos Aires Argentina Teatro Gran Rex
Europe
13 April 2011 İstanbul Turkey Babylon
20 April 2011 Glasgow Scotland O2 ABC Glasgow
gollark: I don't believe in France anyway.
gollark: They're mostly just a mildly aesthetic part of the skybox.
gollark: Literally take them from space and run them through the GTech™ stellar disassembly line.
gollark: The stars are worse, even, since they're basically entirely deterministic, while osmarks.net COULD but doesn't use a CSPRNG.
gollark: I'm not sure what it'd involve.

References
  1. Praxis Media. "Radio1 Rodos Greece ::: UK Forthcoming Singles ::: Charts, DJ Promos, Dance, Lyrics, Free Mp3 Samples Downloads". Radio1.gr. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  2. Nash, Kate (19 March 2011). "Kate Nash: My Ignorant Youth: Tour Tour Tour!". Myignorantyouth.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  3. "Kate Nash - I'Ve Got A Secret - Ltd Edition Tour Vinyl". Katenash.sandbag.uk.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  4. wotyougot.com Archived 11 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine. 1 March 2010
  5. "Kate Nash reveals album tracklisting" Archived 23 April 2012 at WebCite. Digital Spy. 12 February 2010
  6. "Kate Nash Announces New Album Details" Archived 23 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Rock on the Streets.com, 12 February 2010
  7. "Kate Nash Announces New Tour And Makes Some Videos" Archived 1 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Addict Music, 23 February 2010
  8. View on YouTube
  9. "Kiss That Grrrl by Kate Nash Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  10. "Kate Nash". Facebook. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  11. Nash, Kate (18 March 2011). "Kate Nash: My Ignorant Youth: The After-School Club Tour". Myignorantyouth.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  12. My Best Friend Is You at Metacritic
  13. 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. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  15. Andrzej Lukowski (20 April 2010). "Kate Nash: My Best Friend Is You". Drowned In Sound. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  16. Caroline Sullivan (15 April 2010). "Kate Nash: My Best Friend Is You". Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  17. 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. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  18. "AnyDecent Music - Review Aggregate: Kate Nash: My Best Friend Is You". Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  19. Marc Hogan (29 April 2010). "My Best Friend Is You: Kate Nash". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  20. "Kate Nash's cover art for "My Best Friend Is You"" Archived 11 July 2012 at Archive.today, Loft965.com, 18 March 2010
  21. "The Culture Clinic live web chat: Kate Nash answers your questions" Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Times Online, 30 March 2010
  22. "Kate Nash - My Best Friend Is You - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Archived from the original on 21 September 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  23. "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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