Made of Bricks

Made of Bricks
Studio album by Kate Nash
Released	6 August 2007
Genre	Indie pop
Length	55:40
Label	Fiction (UK) Cherrytree (US) Universal Music (International)
Producer	Paul Epworth Kate Nash
Kate Nash chronology
Made of Bricks (2007) My Best Friend Is You (2010)
Singles from Made of Bricks
"Foundations" Released: 18 June 2007 "Mouthwash" Released: 1 October 2007 "Pumpkin Soup" Released: 17 December 2007 "Merry Happy" Released: 24 March 2008

Made of Bricks is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Kate Nash, released in the United Kingdom on 6 August 2007 by Fiction Records, Cherrytree Records, and the Universal Music Group. The album was a commercial success, topping the UK Albums Chart and spawning a number-two single in the form of the lead single "Foundations".^[1] The album was later released in Europe on 10 September 2007 and in the United States on 18 September.

The album was released five weeks earlier than originally planned due to the popularity of "Foundations".^[2][3] The album does not contain the track "Caroline's a Victim", which was released as a limited 7" single, double A-Side with "Birds" on Moshi Moshi Records before "Foundations". "Birds" was included as the fifth track of the album.

A version that included a "making of" DVD was available at Best Buy on the album's release in the United States. In that country, Made of Bricks debuted at number 36 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 16,000.^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[6]

Initial critical response to Made of Bricks were positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 71, based on 23 reviews.^[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by Kate Nash, except where stated. 

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Play"		1:11
2.	"Foundations"	Nash, Paul Epworth	4:05
3.	"Mouthwash"		5:01
4.	"Dickhead"		3:43
5.	"Birds"		4:25
6.	"We Get On"		4:34
7.	"Mariella"		4:15
8.	"Shit Song"		3:05
9.	"Pumpkin Soup"	Nash, Epworth	2:59
10.	"Skeleton Song"	Nash, Alejandro Tovar	5:07
11.	"Nicest Thing"	Nash, Jay Malhotra	4:05
12.	"Merry Happy" (some versions include hidden track Little Red from 6:08; U.S. and U.K. versions do not)	Nash, Anuj Khanna	5:27/13:10
Total length:			55:40

Digital download edition
No.	Title	Length
13.	"A Is for Asthma"	2:37
Total length:		58:17

Japanese CD bonus tracks[7][8]
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Little Red"	6:56
14.	"Stitching Leggings"	2:16
15.	"Navy Taxi"	5:35
16.	"Habanera"	2:24
Total length:		61:03

Personnel

Musicians

• Kate Nash – vocals, piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar, bass, synthesizers, production (track 1)
• Jay Malhotra – electric guitar (tracks 3-5, 10-12), bass (tracks 3-6, 10-12), acoustic guitar (track 1), percussion (track 7)
• Elliott Andrews – drums (tracks 3-6, 8, 10-12)
• Mei-ling Wong – violin (tracks 10, 11)
• Fiona Brice – strings, brass and woodwind arrangements (tracks 4, 12)
• Leo Taylor – drums (track 9)

Production personnel Paul Epworth – production Mark Rankin – engineering Anna Tjan – additional engineering Oli Wright – additional engineering Steve Fitzmaurice – mixing Daniel Morrison – mixing assistance

Additional personnel Chrissie Macdonald – art direction Richard Robinson – graphic design John Short – photography Clare Nash – additional photography Laura Dockrill – illustrations

Singles

• Nash's debut single, "Foundations", is her most successful single to date. It charted at number #2 in the UK Singles Chart, missing the number one spot to Rihanna's "Umbrella" by less than 200 copies. The song also charted most notably in Canada, Ireland, Germany and Austria.
• The album's second single, "Mouthwash" was performed at T4 on the Beach shortly before its release. The single entered the UK Singles Chart at #54 and two weeks later reached its peak position of #23. It received mixed reviews and did not chart elsewhere.
• The third single release, "Pumpkin Soup", released in October 2007, reached its UK peak position of #23 in January 2008. The song also charted in Austria and Germany. It managed to achieve a number #40 spot in Ireland.
• The fourth and final single released from Made of Bricks was "Merry Happy". The single was predicted to chart well after it was playlisted on BBC Radio 1, however Nash did not release a video for the song. Although it underperformed in the UK, the song did manage to chart in the Top 100 in Canada and was her first hit in the US.

Chart positions

Chart (2007) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[9] 67 Austrian Albums Chart 51 Belgian Albums Chart 20 Canadian Album Chart 14 Dutch Albums Chart 41 French Albums Chart 39 German Albums Chart 38 Irish Albums Chart 8 Swiss Albums Chart 39 UK Albums Chart 1 US Billboard 200 36

Sales and certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales Germany (BVMI)[10] Gold 100,000^^ ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Chart Stats - Kate Nash". Chart Stats. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
2. Play Archived 7 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
3. NME Archived 7 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
4. Katie Hasty, "Keys Holds Off Radiohead, 'Juno' At No. 1", Billboard.com, 16 January 2008.
5. "Kate Nash:Made of Bricks (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Archived from the original on 2010-04-27. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
6. Bush, John. "Review: Made of Bricks". Allmusic. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
7. "japanese CD bonus tracks on Amazon Japan" (in Japanese and English). amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 1-2-14. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
8. "japanese CD bonus tracks on CD japan". cdjapan.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 1-2-14. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
9. "ARIA Top 100 Albums - Week Commencing 25th February 2008". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
10. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Kate Nash; 'Made of Bricks')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.