Does the world really need an album of Dusty Springfield ‘interpretations’?

No, not really. 

P.S. The quiet, minimal version of “Anyone Who Had a Heart” was quite good, though.  Maybe this would have been better as a short EP (with reasonably done but boring b-side “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”).

When my friend Rebecca put “We Get On” and “Foundations” on a mix CD for me, I was smitten with Kate Nash.  For their own reasons, both songs are practically perfect in every way – charming music, relatable and cheeky lyrics, and light, tuneful female (British, even!) vocals.  I pounced on the album as soon as it was available on iTunes and was shocked, because I didn’t like it much at all.  Nothing is as refreshingly revealing as “Foundations,” nothing as clueless and clumsy as “We Get On.”  Instead, the album is 70% full of throwaway material, like the cleverly-titled “D******d,” and the irritating and unremarkable “Play” and “Nicest Thing.”

The entire album is not a waste; I could listen to “We Get On” all day, “Merry Happy” has a fun little beat, and “S*** Song,” though tragically titled, is catchy in a Scissor-Sisters-disco kind of way.  I just can’t get over my initial crushing disappointment over the general non-brilliance of the record, and accept that it is just 'good.'