Kate Bush is the rare artist whose music sounds entirely otherworldly, but somehow does not push forward the boundaries of rock music. This is through no failing on her part: Bush's music is so idiosyncratic that it is impossible to even think of another artist who can incorporate her styles and ideas into their own work.
Bush's latest album'the double-disc Aerial'is an eclectic and eccentric combination of art rock, soft rock, electronica, renaissance and choral music. It is music too odd to be mainstream, but not trendy enough to be indie. In the end, it is best described as a style that is simply all her own.
This does not mean her music is not accessible: Aerial is filled with atmospheric gems that remind the listener of beautiful sunsets, lonely afternoons and everything in between.
Most of the songs on Aerial combine the sounds of centuries past with the post-modern mixture of various genres that Bush has worked with for the last 27 years. The results are impressive and a curiosity to say the least. 'Pi' combines electronic beats with acoustic guitar flourishes, and in the end somehow manages to make synthesizers sound earthy. 'Joanni' similarly marries genres with its natural and urban sounds'its wispy vocals and tribal beats make it sound like club music for a rising sun.
The most successful combination of varying genres is the first track and lead single, 'King of the Mountain.' It combines the Asian music experiments of Japan's Tin Drum with the '80s mainstream rock of Genesis, and throws in references to 'Citizen Kane's' 'Rosebud' to boot. Inexplicably, the result is a moody dance number.
The most lyrically adventurous number on Aerial is the quiet 'Mrs. Bartolozzi,' an effecting description of the unfulfilling tasks that fill the life of a housewife. In this song, Bush sings from the perspective of Mrs. Bartolozzi, who watches her clothes tumble about inside the washing machine. Eventually, Bartolozzi begins to imagine she is standing in the ocean with her husband, feeling the waves roll over their feet.
The reality of her loneliness takes over when Bush sings, 'Out of the corner of my eye / I think I see you standing outside / But it's just your shirt / Hanging on the washing line.' Bush's Bartolozzi exaggerates tedious, everyday happenings into things far more exciting, and the result is a song as quiet as it is heartbreaking.
Ultimately, the entire album ends up leaving the listener with the impression that Bush is a musical hermit'someone who occasionally ventures into the modern world to observe new sounds and trends, but still spends so much time alone that whatever music she ends up making, is nothing more or less than entirely her own. And Kate Bush, like her music, remains idiosyncratic, intelligent, heartfelt and peerless.
