Friday, Nov. 18, 2005 | 09:48
kate bush - aerial
in the 80's i listened to whatever my parents played, and they were classic rock, country, and lite rock fans. there wasn't much exposure to pop music, much less new wave or college radio. this meant i didn't hear any kate bush, except maybe 'running up that hill', until after she'd stopped recording. i didn't hear 'the hounds of love' until after i moved to chicago, so in this century. so while i'd heard good things about her, and enjoyed her voice on peter gabriel's 'so', i didn't really know her music.
while kate bush did not enjoy widespread pop success, at least in america, she did pave the way for similar artists to approach the charts later. i would argue that without her tori amos and pj harvey, and to a lesser extent sarah mclachlan and alanis morissette, would never have had the appeal and success they achieved. in fact, tori's ouvre feels like it grows directly from kate's career.
kate bush lives in her own world, so when she creates music it exists independent of external trends. this isn't to say she has no outside influences, but, like a tori amos album, kate's music exists in a bubble and can't be judged against other people's music (though 'the red shoes' comes close). on her new double album 'aerial', kate shows that time has not changed her. the production is modern, meaning no 80's synths or big booming drums, but the sound is distinctly her own. the music is pretty sedate and mature--something my parents wouldn't mind--yet also complex and interesting, while kate's lyrical tendencies lean toward nature and the erotic, and often both at the same time. what this means is long-time fans will have no problem enjoying this album, and it should garner her a whole bunch of new fans who, like me, weren't listening to her in the 80's.
since this is kate's world, the imagery and ideas flow together seamlessly, as does the music, so that each disc is a concept album in itself. the first seems to be about her life these past 12 years, with special emphasis on her son, while the second disc essentially chronicles the perfect day (the amg review is spot on here). i can't say any tracks stand out as superior to others, though the second disc has fewer 'songs' and more transitional pieces, but this is another way to say everything is strong and appealing.
i'm not sure 'aerial' matches quite the intensity of 'hounds of love', and long-time fans may prefer her earlier albums out of nostalgia, but if you're new to kate bush this is the place to start. i'm going to enjoy spending time with this album, getting to know it.
