Kate Nash, the Accidental Musician

Kate Nash's music career was an accident. After being rejected from Britain's prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, the London-based songstress had to rethink her future. She was given plenty of time to do so when she subsequently fell down a flight of stairs and broke her foot.

 Confined to the indoors, she turned to songwriting. Once healed, she booked herself gigs in clubs, uploaded her music to the internet, and through the power of MySpace found herself a manager. She landed a record deal in Mach of 2007, and began work on her debut album, Made of Bricks.

When she released the single "Foundations," it became a massive hit, reaching #2 on the UK singles chart with barely any radio play. The surprise success of "Foundations" led her label to move up Bricks' release date from October to August.

 Bricks is chock full of catchy hooks and witty lyrics, each song perfectly crafted to tell an elaborate story in a mere few minutes. Two artists Nash is most often compared to are Lily Allen and Regina Spektor, and their influence is apparent on "Foundations." The plunking piano evokes Spektor, while the lyrics are pure Allen. (A sample: "You said I must eat so many lemons/ 'cause I am so bitter/I said, 'I'd rather be with your friends mate/ 'cause they are much fitter.'")

Other tracks are similarly wordy. "Mouthwash" is a speech to a potential lover, to whom Nash is trying to explain her various idiosyncrasies. "And I use mouthwash/Sometimes I floss/I've got a family and I drink cups of tea," she sings. It's a mouthful, but Nash's bouncy delivery sells it.

Even on quieter songs, she weaves an elaborate tapestry of words, especially on the lovely "Birds." Another bonus to this album is the proliferation of delightful British slang. Words like "twat" and "tart" flow freely, and that's just on one song ("We Get On").

The only downside to Bricks is that it's currently available solely as an import here in the States. I recommend going through a British music website, such as HMV (hmv.co.uk), where I bought my copy. Paying £13.19 GBP (that's roughly $26 for you Americans) isn't too shabby considering other sites charge upwards of $45.

But if you enjoy quality, quirky music, no price is too steep to pay for Kate Nash, the accidental musician.