Kate Bush

It only took approximately 4389 days from her last album, 1993’s subdued The Red Shoes, but Kate Bush has given us a brand new album. Long-time fans of the peculiar, reclusive chanteuse were literally left in the dark over the 12 years of waiting; a period of time that has witnessed so many different fads and events in music. The possibilities running through the minds of fans were endless, but Bush has remained true to her fashion and given us an album that lives up to her classic past works. Once again a self-produced effort, Aerial proves Bush has been hard at work; released across two discs, the album is split into a seven-track first disc and a nine-part concept piece. The first disc is titled A Sea of Honey, which begins with single "King of the Mountain,” a crawling, slow burner that builds into a deep, almost world beat groove. Along with the sleeve artwork and photos, "Bertie” exposes Bush as the doting mother, while exploring another musical facet that is the idyllic renaissance guitar. And then there’s "Mrs. Bartolozzi,” where Bush praises her washing machine by mimicking its "slooshy” sounds. It’s A Sky of Honey — the second disc — though, that spotlights Bush’s inimitability. Beginning with chirping birds and Bertie addressing his parents, it falls into a beautiful symphony that follows the cyclical changing of seasons through nine distinct yet fluid movements. Aerial should either meet or exceed most expectations as it shows this amazingly gifted and extraordinary songwriter is back at the top of her game and as inspired as ever.