We tire of the city, we tire of it all, we long for just that something more...

Kate Bush is one of those artists you're supposed to love, even though you may not remember anything beyond "Running Up That Hill". She's in that triumverate with Enya and Tori Amos to nab the "sensitive chick" in the 90s (not like I would know anything about that). Bush had been insanely popular in England since the late 70s/early 80s though, and helped usher in the musical climate that brought new wave music to pop radio. recently she has slowed down her output so that this is only her third studio album in the last 20 years. But it's a double. Was it worth the wait? On a whole, yes.


Aerial is split up into disc themes, "A Sea Of Honey" and "A Sky Of Honey". "Sea" is the more experimental of the two in terms of musical structure, though explores more mundane subjects like laundry ("Mrs. Bartolozzi") or math ("Pi"). Lead-off single "King Of The Mountain" is by no means a standard pop song, though it does contain an accessible air about it. With the rest of the first disc, everything kind of works as mood pieces, but it does lull a bit. The second disc, however, changes that. Formed as an album unto itself, "A Sky Of Honey" starts strangely with both a short prelude and a longer "Prologue" to more expansive themes, like "An Architect's Dream" and "The Painted Link", which I can interpret to be about Frank Lloyd Wright and Picasso (though I have no idea if this is what she was going for). "Sunset", "Somewhere In Between", "Nocturn", and "Aerial" (along with another interlude) form a suite to nature and the skies. It works much better as a cohesive unit than the first disc, as well as being a better listen. "Sunset" uses subtle African rhythms for an almost Peter Gabriel-ish feel, while "Nocturn" is the highlight of the whole set, with a spacey and almost funky instrumentation, and is the perfect culmination of the story of a woman yearning to break free from the ordinary. With an open mind, Aerial would inspire you to possibly to do the same.

Grade: B+
Best Cuts: "Nocturn", "Sunset", "Somewhere In Between", "King Of The Mountain"
Weakest Links: "Mrs. Bartolozzi", "Bertie"

Aerial hit #48 US pop albums and #3 UK albums.
"King of The Mountain" made #6 UK singles.

You can pick up Aerial at websites like here and here.

To listen to the standout track "Nocturn", you can download by clicking here (right-click to bring up a new window).

And here's the video for the single "King Of The Mountain".