Kate Nash has had an incredible ride since her 2007 breakthrough debut album Made Of Bricks. At the beginning of 2024, she announced that she'd signed with legendary indie label Kill Rock Stars, but has only released a couple of singles since that news, one of which was a cover of Sinéad O'Connor's "Famine." On Wednesday, Nash returned with the new song "Spilt Milk" and the announcement of a new album Cailín, out in January.
Nash's cover of O'Connor's iconic song wasn't just an ode to a legend. It was foreshadowing Nash's new musical era. Cailín is a celebration of her Irish heritage; Nash has dual citizenship, with her mother from Dublin and Nash raised in an Irish community in London's North Harrow.
“All my earliest musical memories were in Ireland: live music in the pub, going to Sharon Shannon gigs, seeing the best accordion player you’ve ever seen and it’s a bored-looking eight-year-old boy in a puffer jacket," Nash shared about the album in a press release. "There’s a natural respect for musicians as it’s embedded into the fabric of everyday life."
The album's lead single, "Spilt Milk," is a ferocious, punky, hip-hop-inflected romp. The lyrics lash out against the growing oppression of women's bodies. Nash shared that:
Spilt Milk was initially written about abortion law in Ireland before they repealed the 8th (which only happened in 2018). It’s about not having control over your own body, not being listened to and feeling like the powers that be are getting bigger, scarier and more crushing. With the overturning of Roe v Wade and women’s sexual health rights being rolled back in the US this song feels pertinent to today. The song questions why the female voice is so ignored and why we’d be expected to accept this.
Watch the Tom Beard-directed video for "Spilt Milk" below, where you can also find "Famine."
TRACKLIST:
01 "I Guess I’ll Never Learn A Thing"
02 "Cailín"
03 "Freedom Of Me"
04 "Famine"
05 "Spilt Milk"
06 "Wild Atlantic Way"
07 "Crying"
08 "Irish Saints"
09 "Póg mo thóin"
10 "Lady Gregory"
11 "Pay Up"
12 "Christmas Eve"
Cailín is out 1/22 via Kill Rock Stars. Pre-order it here.
