Cut down on the cute, Kate

(Morning Star, Friday 30 November 2007)
LIVE: Kate Nash
Manchester Academy

THERE'S something about Kate Nash. The London chanteuse with a nice line in youth culture has been the big hit of the year and she really seems to be riding the wave all the way to proper music success.

Coming onstage to Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Nash is all wide eyes and auburn hair, with a vulnerability which is abundantly appreciated by the male fanbase in attendance.

Blokes of all ages are rapt with attention tonight as this most girlish of singers peddles her off-kilter tales of love in a time of Big Brother and text messages.

With a cinched-in waist, it's clear that fame has brought with it the identikit publicity machine. Now aged 20, there's no evidence of the puppy fat that she wore so well earlier in the year and, with it, has gone a little of her idiosyncrasy.

The stage is set up like Auntie Ethel's front room, resplendent with faux flowers and cheesy seaside ornaments, but it all adds to Nash's quirky stage show as she takes her seat at a piano swathed in red velvet and decorated with a massive bow.

Kicking off with the infectious Mariella, a song about a girl who glued her lips together to live in her own world, each song is heralded by raucous cheering from the capacity crowd.

The girl who has been cast in Lily Allen's mould flirts shamelessly, batting her eyelashes at her fans but, in truth, her sweet naivety and quaint storytelling often put her a margin above Allen's cynicism.

A case in point is the nursery rhyme-like Mouthwash, soundtracking an impromptu audience dance contest, then the one everyone's here to hear, Foundations, which, on record, is a surprisingly emotional song but which loses all subtlety in the live forum.

For all her sweetness, Nash's youth appeal is clearly massive. She does, after all, speak the same language as her audience.

Tonight's appearance is marked by a substantial leap forward in confidence, but the cutesy girl act is growing a little tired for someone who is now clearly an adult performer.

Nash is not, as her album title suggests, Made of Bricks, but she should take care not to look like she's made of fluff.