Bush: The Kingdom

[Deck Rickard]

Anyone out there still fans of Gavin & Co.? To be clear, Gavin is the only one of the original lineup left but Bush has always kinda been his show anyway. The Kingdom came out last week and I have to say it’s a massive improvement over their last effort (the mediocre Black & White Rainbows). It’s a pretty heavy album (the only slow ballad is buried in the middle but “Undone” is a nice little interlude between loud bangers) that doesn’t always hit the mark but it’s definitely a fun album to listen to when you work out or smash things lol.

Gavin’s voice sounds the same as it did in 1996 so if you liked it then, you’ll probably like it now. Guitarist Chris Traynor brings some great riffs throughout though I wish we could have gotten some longer solos from him; having seen them live a few times I know he’s capable of it. Lyrically, it bounces back and forth between interesting and WTF but all in all, it’s solid. I doubt Bush will ever return to their glory days of being one of the biggest bands in the world but this album definitely feels like a return to the electronica-grunge sound that made albums like The Science of Things and the underrated Golden State work so well.

Highlights: “Words Are Not Impediements,” “Blood River,” “Quicksand” and “Ghosts in the Machine.”