Debutante (Nash Kato album)

Debutante is the solo debut album by the American musician Nash Kato, released in 2000.[2][3] It was Kato's first musical release since Urge Overkill's Exit the Dragon; Kato had failed in his attempt to legally secure the UO name.[4][5] The album's title was suggested by former Urge Overkill bandmate Blackie Onassis.[6]

Debutante
Studio album by
Released2000
GenreAlternative rock
LabelWill/Loosegroove Records[1]
ProducerEric Rosse

The album sold fewer than 5,000 copies.[7] Kato promoted the album by opening for Cheap Trick on some North American tour dates.[8]

Production

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The album was produced by Eric Rosse.[9] Josh Freese played drums; Louise Post contributed backing vocals.[5][10] "Dirty Work" is a cover of the Steely Dan song.[11]

Kato cowrote some of the songs with Blackie Onassis.[12] He spent two years working on them, and three months recording them, using a Santa Fe, New Mexico, portable studio.[13][14][15]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [16]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[17]
Pitchfork7.1/10[18]

The Washington Post wrote that "like most rockers who take the solo route ... Kato only sometimes transcends his influences."[11] Exclaim! called the album a "return to ornate suave pop."[19] Pitchfork likened it to "a fuel-injected, rock-oriented Steely Dan."[18]

The Chicago Reader deemed the album "a heaping dose of retro rock so dumb it makes Urge’s thin line between smug and sincere look like the Berlin Wall."[9] SF Weekly concluded that "while some of the grooves and flourishes of Kato's backup band seem unconsciously cheesy, what they lack in taste is redeemed in skilled musicianship that lends more sophistication to Debutante than Urge Overkill was ever capable of providing."[20] Entertainment Weekly determined that "the ironic trash-culture stance that seemed subversive during UO’s prime feels smug on Kato’s sleek new tunes."[17]

AllMusic called the album "big, glossy hard rock, complete with a self-conscious sense of humor and an immersion in hipster pop culture."[16]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Zooey Suicide" 
2."Queen of the Gangsters" 
3."Octoroon" 
4."Cradle Robbers" 
5."Blow" 
6."Debutante" 
7."Dirty Work" 
8."Rani (Don't Waste It)" 
9."Los Angelena" 
10."Black Satin Jacket" 
11."Pillow Talk" 
12."Born in the Eighties" 
13."Blue Wallpaper" 

References

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  1. ^ "Urge Overkill". Trouser Press. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Nash Kato Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Botchick, Cheryl (Feb 21, 2000). "Nash Kato to Unveil 'Debutante' This Spring". CMJ New Music Report. 61 (654): 3.
  4. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. December 16, 2003. ISBN 9781858284576 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b "Ex-Urge Overkill Members Resurface". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021.
  6. ^ Chiu, Brittney (4 Aug 2000). "Kato moves from frontman to frontlines of solo career". The Gazette. GO. p. 17.
  7. ^ Fine, Jon (May 3, 2016). Your Band Sucks: What I Saw at Indie Rock's Failed Revolution (But Can No Longer Hear). Penguin. ISBN 9780143108283 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Wolgamott, L Kent (4 Aug 2000). "Use the force: Former Urge Overkill singer excited to be in rock band again". Lincoln Journal Star. Ground Zero. p. 10.
  9. ^ a b "Slight Returns/The Groove Gets Fatter/Original Soundz - Chicago Reader". April 20, 2000.
  10. ^ "Pop Eye". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. 18 July 1999. p. 67.
  11. ^ a b "NASH KATO 'Debutante' Loosegroove/Will". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  12. ^ Bream, Jon (4 Aug 2000). "Pop/rock". Star Tribune. Free Time. p. 9.
  13. ^ "If the name Nash Kato doesn't ring a bell...". The StarPhoenix. 24 Aug 2000. p. D1.
  14. ^ Condran, Ed (2 June 2000). "SUSPENDED URGE YIELDS A SOULFUL SURGE". The Record. LIFESTYLE/PREVIEWS. p. 10.
  15. ^ Nailen, Dan (20 May 2000). "Urge Overkill's Kato Bringing Old Sound and New Songs to Salt Lake City". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. C7.
  16. ^ a b "Debutante - Nash Kato | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  17. ^ a b Schinder, Scott. "Debutante". EW.com.
  18. ^ a b "Nash Kato: Debutante: Pitchfork Review". August 16, 2000. Archived from the original on 16 August 2000.
  19. ^ "Nash Kato Debutante | Exclaim!". exclaim.ca.
  20. ^ "Nash Kato". SF Weekly. April 5, 2000. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.