Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

Sometimes follow up albums take a long time, and sometimes it just feels like they take along time, and it certainly feels like an age since Kate Nash's 2007 debut Made Of Bricks. Since then Lily Allen returned with the commercial supernova and definitive naughties state of the union address It's Not Me It's You and the pop landscape has changed beyond recognition. It has become more open, but the old guard has also pulled rank and tightened up with a remarkable rear guard action that has seen JLS, Leona Lewis, Alexandre Burke & Taylor Swift dominating the singles chart. There simply doesn't seem much room left for the nonplussed charms of Miss Nash, and as much as she hates to admit it, she is a post-Lily Allen act, and with La Roux and Florence Welsh crowding the market place Nash will really have to go some to stand out.

Thankfully, it seems Miss Nash is nothing if not bold, and it seems she's doing everything in her power to step out from behind Miss Allen's shadow. The result, I Just Love You More is somewhat mixed, it's certainly a dramatic departure for Nash, but unfortunately it feels more endebted than original. I Just Love You More starts with a sleek bass hook and some ice cold guitar work that has a knowingly nineties alternative feel without ever sounding dated. It's sparse, brooding and abrasive in tone if not texturally and recalls some of the best work of Nick Zimmer and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Vocally there are huge nods to Karen O but even more prominent is Love Is All lead singer Josephine Olausson; the tracks final screamed vocal breakdown feels more like a Josephine tribute act than a subtle nod. Lost in new make over is a sense of Kate Nash's own personality; gone are the highly personal lyrics, gone is the semi-rapped delivery and gone are the densely packed quick fire verses. In it's place is a sparse verse, in fact there is no traditional verse to speak of, and instead a brooding, desperate semi-psychotic atmosphere is created through repetition. Thankfully Nash's manages vocal retains it's charm, it still feels detached and her intonation oozes sarcasm and disdain, which while undeniable cool, does somewhat detract from the tracks sincerity. Despite these short comings the track is so sleaky produced, so direct and so to the point that it can't help but thrill. I Just Love You More certainly won't help her climb to the top of the pop charts but it is cooler and heavier than many would have anticipated. It's undeniably thrilling and a bold statement, Miss Nash may be wearing borrowed clothes but if she can find her own voice and creat a niche of her own, then her forthcoming album might just turn out to be a true revelation.