It seems that three years and an Irish sabbatical couldn't provide the spark of creativity to push lead singer Gavin Rossdale's "The Science of Things" to "Sixteen Stone" caliber.
With label disputes and a long break between albums, it's a surprise Bush has a fraction of the fan support they once had. And with rock's grunge scene departing the roots to which Bush still adheres, their attempt to break new ground with "Science" slips through the cracks.
It's not that an attempt to enhance style or sound in the new album wasn't made -- it was -- but just as Hootie and the Blowfish tried to improve on their second and third albums, the revisions produce a distancing from that creative synthesis that made their first album so successful.
The mark of a good, lasting group is the ability to break out with a slightly different sound, recognizable from past albums but still distinguishable as their work. Rossdale does show progression in his three albums, but a progression toward a slower, toned down vocal and guitar play in many songs. Other tracks feature a hard sound, but a repetitive and thin lyrical base.
Rossdale's introduction of violins on "Razorblade Suitcase" added a bit of a new dimension, some more depth to the hard guitar-bass-drums that permeate every song, but his strong point is the guttural and forceful Eddie Vedder-like vocals that he sings on the new album. The ability to maintain this strength while still setting forth a catchy tune and lyrics with some depth has unfortunately eluded him on his recent effort.
Rather, the sound of "Science" is somewhat techno-influenced with computer bleeps and doesn't do a great deal in enhancing the song, it doesn't even fit in many cases, and the melding of the Bush style with the vibrating synthesized sounds is far too artificial.
Lyrically, "it's all about is it a good song and are you communicating a good collection of words," said Rossdale in a recent Rolling Stone interview.
Well, after giving this album a listen with songs whose assorted and distorted topics range from pollution to HIV to space travel, once can become very confused about his message, if there is one. Is there a theme or undercurrent holding this album together, or was it anything he could come up with while working alone on the Irish coast?
The most depressing aspect of this album is actually the amount of time and effort Rossdale put into it. "I really tried to push myself writing those songs and we really tried to make it a great record," he said. Rossdale composed twenty-four completed songs by himself before reuniting with the rest of the band and releasing the final twelve on November 2.
The first radio song, "The Chemicals Between Us" is probably the most well-balanced song on the album. In this song it appears the sounds and ideas seem to be in place. There's a catchy drum beat, guitar background, and some interesting sounds well-placed behind the strong voice and potent words of Rossdale.
Judging the rest of the album from this song is, however, a mistake. The first two songs, with slow dirty guitars, are dragged out in a story-telling fashion with no power or discernable rhythm, not the types of songs one remembers.
Following "Chemicals" is "English Fire," whose vocals and back ups simply don't fit with the string instruments, and nothing but a cacophonous nightmare almost as annoying as #9 from the Beatles' "White Album."
With "40 Miles from the Sun," Rossdale returns to the slowed-down, mellow, 'everything is dying'-type sound he had on the first track, "Warm Machine." He's trying to develop this type of Bush sound in the album as he cuts very uncharacteristic tracks with slow whining guitars and a less intense up-and-down voice.
Rossdale tears out with a second well-balanced song in "The Disease of the Dancing Cats," with a build-up and beat that reflects upon the thrashing sounds that open songs like "Everything Zen." In this song you can feel his emotion build up and the force can grip your attention in a way nearly every track from "Sixteen Stone" did.
What we can expect from Bush now is a huge, widely publicized tour to promote the album. With Bush's high-powered concert energy and a repertoire of fan favorites, sales may be pushed up, but the uniqueness of their sound has definitely faltered from the appeal of "Sixteen Stone."
