Girl Talk is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Kate Nash. Nash self-released the album under Have 10p Records along with Fontana in March 2013 after she raised money for the album on PledgeMusic. Girl Talk has received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Featuring a heavier rock-influenced sound, the album is a noticeable departure from her first two indie pop albums. Lyrically, it draws a lot of influence from the riot grrrl movement.
| Girl Talk | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 4 March 2013 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:29 | |||
| Label | Have 10p Records/Fontana | |||
| Producer |
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| Kate Nash chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Girl Talk | ||||
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The vinyl LP version of the record was pressed by United Record Pressing in Nashville, TN.
Production edit
The lyrics for the album's songs were written in 2011, and Nash wanted to record them as quickly as possible. Fiction Records, her record label at the time, however, wanted to slow down production and edit some of her songs to remove their "punky elements".[1] Nash left Fiction Records and set up Have 10p Records to release the album.[1] She paid for the production of the album through crowd funding on PledgeMusic.[2][3] The album was recorded at The Paramour Mansion in Echo Park, Los Angeles.[4] In January 2013, Nash announced she would release the album on 4 March, with the single "3AM" released on 18 February.[5] Tom Biller produced the album and Jeff Ellis worked as the audio engineer.[2]
A limited heart shaped vinyl of "Free My Pussy", one of the album's deluxe tracks, was also released.[6]
Lyrical content edit
The style of Girl Talk has been classified as indie rock and garage punk.[7] Reviewers note the album has a feminist and female empowerment tone.[3][7]
Nash has stated that Girl Talk was written in the context of the arrest of Pussy riot and the theme of female empowerment may be extended to any individuals who feel suppressed.[8]
Reception edit
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 63/100[9] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [7] |
| The A.V. Club | C+[10] |
| Consequence of Sound | [11] |
| MSN Music (Expert Witness) | A−[12] |
| musicOMH | [13] |
| NME | 7/10[14] |
| Pitchfork | 6.4/10[3] |
| Rolling Stone | [15] |
At Metacritic, a review aggregator which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[9] The aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 6.2/10 based on 12 reviews.[16] The album charted at 85 on the UK Albums Chart in its opening week.
Writing for AllMusic, Matt Collar called the album "more like the D.I.Y.-debut of a new indie rock band than the third effort of an established singer/songwriter", but went on to say "she hasn't sacrificed any of the personal, intimate lyrics that marked the best of her early songs."[7] Jenny Stevens of NME agreed with Collar, saying Girl Talk has "shouts" and "moments of intimacy".[14] Matt Ryan of The A.V. Club noted that the tone of the album's songs moved "toward[s] more aggressive, moody rock" and further away from the tone of Nash's previous albums Made of Bricks and My Best Friend Is You.[10] Christopher Monk of musicOMH agreed that the album "[put] clear blue water between the Nash of old [...] and the new Nash". He gave the album two out of five stars and said that Girl Talk's main problem was that its songs were "not, on the whole, any good."[13]
Chart performance edit
The album charted at number 85 on the UK Albums Chart in its first week of release.
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC) | 85[17] |
| German Albums Chart (Media Control) | 55[18] |
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Kate Nash
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Part Heart" | 3:07 |
| 2. | "Fri-End?" | 3:32 |
| 3. | "Death Proof" | 2:23 |
| 4. | "Are You There Sweetheart?" | 4:28 |
| 5. | "Sister" | 4:18 |
| 6. | "OMYGOD!" | 2:57 |
| 7. | "Oh" (featuring Siobhan Malhotra) | 4:22 |
| 8. | "All Talk" | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Conventional Girl" | 4:25 |
| 10. | "3AM" | 3:31 |
| 11. | "Rap for Rejection" | 2:18 |
| 12. | "Cherry Pickin'" | 3:00 |
| 13. | "Labyrinth" | 3:29 |
| 14. | "You're So Cool, I'm So Freaky" | 3:17 |
| 15. | "Lullaby for an Insomniac" | 3:52 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Mermaid Blue" | 3:34 |
| 17. | "Free My Pussy" | 2:43 |
| 18. | "I'm a Feminist, You're Still a Whore" | 4:17 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | |
| 2. | "The Paramour Mansion" | |
| 3. | "Faster Pussycat Kill Kill! (Bristol-Oxford-Brighton)" | |
| 4. | "Girl Gang" | |
| 5. | "I'm So Cool, You're So Freaky" | |
| 6. | "The Agony Aunt Sessions, Girl Talk With Sarah Solemani" | |
| 7. | "Credits" |
Personnel edit
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References edit
- ^ a b Duerden, Nick (13 February 2013). "Kate Nash: Back on track after bitter battles". The Independent. Independent Print Limited.
- ^ a b "Kate Nash". PledgeMusic. Archived from the original on 7 August 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Mapes, Jillian (7 March 2013). "Kate Nash Girl Talk". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ Plummer, Sean (4 March 2013). "Kate Nash channels feminism and fun on Girl Talk". MSN. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ "Kate Nash to release new album 'Girl Talk' in March". NME. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ "Kate Nash – Free My Pussy (2013, Red Translucent, Vinyl)". Discogs. 20 April 2013.
- ^ a b c d Collar, Matt. Girl Talk at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ Kate Nash – Free My Pussy – Sebright Arms – Live in London – February 13 2013 on YouTube
- ^ a b "Girl Talk– Kate Nash". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ a b Ryan, Kyle (5 March 2013). "Kate Nash Girl Talk". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ Kitching, Bryant (12 March 2013). "Album Review: Kate Nash – Girl Talk". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (26 March 2013). "Kate Nash/Waxahatchee". MSN Music. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ a b Monk, Christopher (5 March 2012). "Kate Nash – Girl Talk". MusicOMH. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ a b Stevens, Jenny (27 February 2013). "Kate Nash– 'Girl Talk'". NME. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ Rosen, Jody (27 March 2013). "Kate Nash: Girl Talk". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Kate Nash Girl Talk". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ "Kate Nash". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ "Kate Nash" (in German). Musicline. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ "Kate Nash – Girl Talk (2013, CD)". Discogs. 4 March 2013.