Between Kate Nash, Lily Allen and the Ting Tings, the 2000s led to a brand new type of pop music characterised by cheeky lyricism, over-exaggeratedly accented vocals, and bouncy instrumentals. This light-hearted, playful and quintessentially British type of pop soundtracked the lives of late noughties teenagers, from home events to nights spent on MySpace and the lengthy wait between episodes of Skins.
However one music, specifically, would outline the subgenre and change into the indie pop anthem of an entire technology – the long-lasting ‘Foundations’ by Kate Nash. Launched in 2007, the music fashioned the lead single for Nash’s debut album, Fabricated from Bricks. The one peaked at quantity two on the charts, simply overwhelmed out by Rihanna’s monster hit ‘Umbrella’.
It’s a music that appears burned into the cultural consciousness of the UK. Ask any woman born within the Nineties to sing ‘Foundations’, and he or she’ll gladly and enthusiastically recite each phrase, emphasising a feigned London accent for the road, “I mentioned I’d somewhat be with your folks mate, ’trigger they’re much fitter”. It’s this fierce, memorable tongue-in-cheek writing that earned the music its ongoing notoriety. The lyricism is so uniquely Kate Nash and so uniquely ‘Foundations’.
Sonically, the monitor is a enjoyable indie pop quantity led by cheery piano notes and a drum machine. The refrain is endlessly catchy, and it’s inconceivable to not sing alongside. However the lyrics are literally heartbreaking, following a younger Nash as she desperately tries to let go of her poisonous relationship. The writing is snarky and simplistic, painfully naïve and self-aware on the similar time. ‘Foundations’ continuously treads the road between enjoyable and devastating.
Nash candidly shows her frustrations with wit and humour in strains like, “You mentioned I need to eat so many lemons ’trigger I’m so bitter”. The music adopts a coping mechanism utilized by many – protecting up actual emotion with humour. But when we glance simply previous the facade of cheek and sarcasm, the monitor continuously flits between the growing disappointment and spite surrounding her failing relationship. Beneath all of it, Nash really longs for stability and security, for foundations.
On the road, “You’ll name me a bitch and everybody we’re with will probably be embarrassed and I gained’t give a shit”, Nash makes use of expletives to convey each anger and indifference inside the relationship. Simply over a refrain later, she sings, “You bought aggressive and I need to admit that I used to be a bit scared”, offering a distressing picture of her more and more risky lover and their impression on her. This back-and forth-perfectly displays a pair making an attempt to one-up one another, who really simply want to search out the energy to let go.
The music could excel in its witty specificity about her personal failing relationship – her lover throwing up on her trainers, calling her a bitch, his pasty face – however it additionally embodies the common frustrations and fears ladies have surrounding males. There’s a cause ladies scream alongside to ‘Foundations’ on the high of their lungs when it comes on shuffle.
This mixture of real emotion and sarcastic writing made ‘Foundations’ greater than your common chart-seeking pop single. Because of a mix of nostalgia for 2000s indie, an addictively singalong-worthy melody, and the real authenticity of the monitor, it stays the beloved anthem of a technology of ladies who’re all the time able to vent their frustrations over its sunny, springy soundtrack.