Kate Nash review: Glow star body-slams her way through anniversary show

This show had nothing to launch her into the charts, says David Smyth, but there was confetti and crowd surfing and rarely a lull
Outlandish ordinariness: Kate Nash in full swing
Angela Lubrano/Livepix
David Smyth15 November 2017

Kate Nash's debut album, Made Of Bricks, went to number one, but her subsequent pop career didn’t turn out to be so solid. Dropped by her record label via text while making a third album, she might have vanished. Here, at a 10th anniversary performance of that first release, she seemed unbowed by her experiences and looked forwards, not back.

The Brit School graduate, 30, pictured, is now an actress in Netflix drama GLOW — which stands for Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling. Here, in a red shiny bra top and pants, she looked ready to body-slam anyone who didn’t believe Made Of Bricks was one of the key releases of the previous decade.

Songs such as Foundations, teased with a chorus at the start, seemed from a more innocent time. Nash rose thanks to MySpace, the messy social media pioneer where people once went to find new music. Her songs were similarly awkward: chirpy piano chords and lyrics full of mundanities. “I’ve got a family and I drink cups of tea,” she sang on Mouthwash, possibly the least exciting revelation put on tape.

Now that ordinariness seemed outlandish. A three-piece, all-female band punked up songs such as Dickhead and Pumpkin Soup, and Nash raced around the blossom-strewn stage with unpolished abandon.

The encore featured new songs including Musical Theatre, about her mental health issues, and Agenda, where she approximated rapping. Nothing to launch her into the charts, but there was confetti and crowd surfing and rarely a lull. A career with one adored album is more than many get, and worth a celebration.

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