FILE UNDER: Bush does abstract.
CORPORATE LINE: With the release of ‘Aerial’, Kate Bush is following in the grand tradition of groundbreaking double albums. “I used to really like the double albums I bought of artists that I loved,” she states. “It wasn’t in a way so directly connected with you spending money on an object. It was somehow more of an artistic statement. It said, ‘Here’s my music’.”
THE GREAT:
“Joanni” – Even though Bush’s vocals seem to be held back the song has everything the previous tracks lack; energy.
“Nocturn” – Bush sounds like an entirely different person on this song. The groove is great which makes the entire track feel alive.
THE AVERAGE:
“King of the Mountain” – The Citizen Kane Elvis references finds Bush thinking deeply about being on top. On top of what?
THE BAD:
“Pi” – Bush singing about numbers is obscure and impossible to enjoy.
“Mrs. Batolozzi” – Kate Bush barely sings over a gorgeous piano line. Lyrics about the “washing machine” and other household chores are bizarre and uninteresting.
FRANKLY: Kate Bush is certainly an acquired taste. Some of us like songs with melody and great hooks while others want something a little more off the beaten track. Bush falls into the latter.
Many of the songs are pretty if you can stick with them long enough. It’s the long winding road that was particularly difficult to follow—particularly on the first disc, A Sea of Honey. A Sky of Honey is abstract but felt more alive than the first. Had the entire record sounded more like “Nocturn” this it might have been much better.
+ Rae Gun
November.07.2005
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