Many people may think that British act
Bush is an early to mid nineties one hit wonder band, with their 1994 album Sixteen Stone and its massive worldwide smash hit single Glycerine their only real moment in the sun. And they can be forgiven for thinking this. Truth of the matter however, is that The Sea of Memories is no less than their fifth album, it's just that it comes after a decade long hiatus.
So how have the last 10 years treated them? Pretty well, by the sounds of the new record. It may sound like a contradiction in terms, but it mines the exact same 'commercial alternative' sound that they were doing in the 90s, and does it very well. If your tastes in alternative music lie in the heavier and/or more progressive range of the spectrum, you'd be better off giving this a wide birth. But if you're a little more mainstream in your alternative likes, there's much to like here.
The songs are mostly uplifting, crowd pleasing rock tunes that will appeal to a broad audience, such as Baby Come Home, and Red Light, whilst they've attempted to recapture the minimalist magic of Glycerine on All Night Doctors. Singer Gavin Rossdale is sounding as much like a latter day, alternative Peter Gabriel as ever.
The Sea of Memories is very safe, inoffensive, accessible alternative rock that is radio ready. Whether they can regain the status they had in the mid 90s remains to be seen, but this album gives them a very good shot at it.
