Kate Nash - Fri-End (Video)

When Kate Nash announced yesterday that she was about to reveal a new surprise on Twitter using the hashtag #KatesSurprise we decided it was time to nip down to the garden shed and get the ear defenders out again. Because the last #KatesSurprise was the atrocious Under-Estimate The Girl, a vulgar noise that led us to hypothesise that Kate Nash was either carrying out a very clever (but risky) PR stunt, is doing pop music in reverse and / or one of 8 other theories (which you can read here).

In the end having seen Nash live twice this summer we came to the conclusion that quite simply, Kate had got a bit older and changed a bit. After all if you remember your seventeen year old teenage-self compared to what you were like at twenty five you’ll probably realise that life doesn’t stay still and your ideas, ideals, tastes and beliefs mould and grow. To use a cliché Kate seems to have adopted the old adage that ‘I’m doing what I like now and if anyone else likes it, it’s a bonus.’ It doesn’t change our mind that Under-Estimate The Girl is still a crime against music, but we respect Kate’s right to do what she wants to do and even admire her for not taking the obvious route of simply attempting to repeat the likes of Foundations and Mouthwash for the rest of her life. Career suicide ? Maybe. But it's actually nice to see someone taking a risk in a society that is becoming ever more conservative musically and also offer some inspiration and an alternative view of things to her predominantly young female audience. We don’t believe (as we theorised in the past) that Kate is creating the type of music she is now making simply to get attention (although let’s face it, to a certain extent every musician that puts their music out in the public domain wants some kind of attention – otherwise why put it out in public at all?) but because, quite simply, this is what she wants to do.

So with ear defenders at the ready we pressed play on Fri-End, Kate’s new song, complete with Halloween inspired video. Whilst Fri-End isn’t going to appeal to the masses and is hardly a unique and original piece of art, but it is a fizzy energetic surf-punk romp that's way better than Under-Estimate The Girl. It even manages to hold on to some of Kate’s previous pop sensibilities - just dressed in a different way. Yes there’s some guttural shouting, yes it’s a bit noisy, but guess what? Fri-End is actually a hell of a lot of fun.

You can get the song for free by joining Kate’s mailing list.

Kate Nash, we’re sorry about some of the stuff we said in the past. But just like you we're allowed to change. Not everyone is going to think this, but we think that right now, you're kind of A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Kate Nash - Fri-End (Video)