Sassafrass Kate Nash may have carved out her own brand of bad girl pop, but don't expect more of the same. Her latest track "Under-Estimate the Girl," is crazy, jarring, and unrecognizable. And it's completely awesome. There's nothing subtle about the self-referential refrain "everybody plays, plays it so safe" -- but why settle for wry or ironic when you can be a bad-ass?

Seems that Kate Nash has gone punk, circa when punk was edgy and cool. So it's only fitting that she's getting a lot of flack for donning the proverbial riotgrrl boots and leather jacket. People are railing at her "rich kid shrieking" act, questioning both her chops and her punk street cred. It might just be that gender studies class I took last year, but I think there's just got to be some gender bias embedded in the backlash. Patti Smith or no Patti Smith, it seems the glass ceiling isn't quite broken for girls who just wanna go hard. Punk rock has always been a bit of a gentleman's club, albeit a violent, sweaty one with nary a polo to be seen. So in a world of quiet, quirky indie girls singing into their guitars, its refreshing to see Nash being so bold. She's out of her comfort zone, but here's nothing awkward or hesitant about her drastic new direction.

And luckily, it sounds like she couldn't care less if you hate her homage to the blaze-of-glory punk kids of yesteryears. (and you won't) If the old Kate Nash was the soundtrack to a laid-back cruise on a bicycle built for two, this Kate Nash is better suited to a freaking motorcycle. Go ahead and try it on for size.





For reference: this is what Kate used to sound like.