Made of Bricks
by Kate Nash
  • Record Label: Fiction
  • Release Date: Jan 8, 2008
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. AllMusic
    80
    What impresses the most about Made of Bricks are her deft sketches of deteriorating relationships.
  2. Boston Globe
    80
    Using her piano, guitar, and rhythm tracks as both weapon and comforter, Nash skips lightly from ultra-contemporary hip-hop grooves to jaunty pop melodies that harken back to Motown and the Fab Four, all while retaining a keen lyrical eye for her own sense of joy, doubt, and power.
  3. Dot Music
    70
    It's one of the most exciting debuts by a young female pop artist in ages. If occasionally it veers a wee bit too much towards the cutesy-kooky.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    Though Nash's debut Made of Bricks can be weighed down by forced sassiness and whiz-bang effects (applied like lacquer by Bloc Party producer Paul Epworth), her lilting alto and quirky sensibility are ultimately winning.
  6. MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
    91
    She remains a nice kid whose knowledge of her own limitations doesn't interfere with her self-respect. That's not just because the knowledge helps her make catchy music out of it, either. But the music helps.
  7. musicOMH.com
    100
    So, from bed-bound broken foot casualty to creator of the finest debut album of the year in just over a year.
  8. Observer Music Monthly
    80
    Consistently framed around a beat, a piano and her voice, her plucky and at times eccentric songs generally stick to themes of female neurosis, emotional fragility and, occasionally, what she likes to eat on her toast.
  9. PopMatters
    70
    Though its doubtful that Made of Bricks will go down as one of the greatest debuts in UK history, it’s still a remarkably entertaining and witty disc, doubling over as the album equivalent of a fun, summer popcorn movie.
  10. Slant Magazine
    70
    Nash's lyrics are charming and skillful, with huge mouthfuls of narrative information crammed into unbelievably small spaces.
  11. Spin
    80
    Nash's bluntness and detail make for a good spectacle. [Feb 2008, p.96]
  12. The A.V. Club
    83
    Nash isn't quite the pottymouth that some of those titles might suggest, and she does a good job of keeping her tales about going for the wrong guy (among other problems faced by a 20-year-old woman) relatively universal, even as she's singing about trainers, tarts, and discos.
  13. The New York Times
    70
    The results are sometimes infuriating but more often lovable. There’s something shrewd about the way she refuses to refuse to state the obvious.
  14. Under The Radar
    70
    It is not a revolutionary concept, but where Nash shows her mettle is in her storytelling. [Winter 2008]
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  15. Village Voice
    80
    Bricks is consequently more bracing and rewarding than most young-love-lost albums.

Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Most Discussed Album of 2008

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 61 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 61
  3. Negative: 9 out of 61
  1. iamanicon
    May 27, 2011
    5
    With the magnificent debut of Foundations and the follow up singles I had high hopes for this album but it didn't quite live up to the expectation.
  2. brubruzinha
    Nov 25, 2021
    10
    I love Kate Nash's debut album, her voice is so warm and great and her lyrics are amazing
  3. EstellaKimberly
    Nov 25, 2021
    10
    I love Kate Nash's debut, so many amazing songs! She's such a talented girl, love her
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