Many people may think that British act Bush is an early to mid ’90s 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. Truth of the matter however, is that The Sea Of Memories is their fifth album, it’s just that it comes after a decade long hiatus.
So how have the last ten 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 berth. But if you’re a little more mainstream in your alternative likes, there is a lot to like here.
The songs are mostly uplifting, crowd-pleasing rock tunes, such as Baby Come Home, and Red Light, while 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 unobjectionable, 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.
BY ROD WHITFIELD
Best Track: Red Light
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: POWDERFINGER, SILVERCHAIR, SMASHING PUMPKINS
In A Word: Safe
