Rating: NNNNN
Yetis, snowman sex, snowflake conception, doomed romance: Kate Bush’s 10th studio album (and her second this year) is in strikingly chilly counterpoint to the warm domestic bliss evoked in her last LP of all-new material, 2005’s Aerial.
As you might expect from a winter-themed record, a solitary tone pervades these seven shivery compositions, many of which unfurl slowly and deliberately from Bush’s trembling piano. There’s a grace and simplicity to the arrangements. Jazzy syncopations give way to almost a cappella interludes, twittering guitar riffs and choral harmonies. The production has a lighter touch than her previous two efforts, but is no less considered (and perhaps more easily adapted for the stage?).
Best are Bush’s vocals, distinctly lower now but as brilliant and playful as ever. She grumbles, coos, burrs and wails, drawing out syllables with such devastating intensity, it’s hard to resist drifting into her darkly whimsical winter world. One of the year’s most imaginative albums.
Top track: Snowed In At Wheeler Street
