** REACHING OUT **

The Reviews (Sweden)

Aerial
 

Svenska Dagbladet - album review
Dagens Nyheter - "Surrealistic Washing"
Aftonbladet - Baroque as usual.
Expressen - album review (of a sort)
Kultur Nyheterna - television album review

To the Reaching Out (Reviews) Table of Contents

Svenska Dagbladet
by Dan Backman
November 9, 2005

(5 stars out of 6)

"It's been twelve years since Kate Bush released her latest record Red Shoes, twelve long years during which the shy Brit has been more invisible than usual.

Now she is back with a double album- that happens to coincide with a renewed interest in her music- it sounds mostly like before. The lyrics are as wilful as ever (It isn't that usual to sing about your washing machine) and her music is still as deeply rooted in the same 1980:s style that has been its fertile soil.

Musically that means- for better or worse- that a whole lot of Aerial sounds somewhat dated; with statically programmed ethno-rhythms, dreamily sweeping synthesized layers upon layers, upon which the passionate voice of Kate Bush hovers (you keep expecting Peter Gabriel to pop in as a duet partner).

The first of the two CD:s has got the name A sea of honey and has, unlike the second CD, no connecting theme.

Without one having to know why she sings, over a Farfisa loop reminiscent of Terry Riley, about a man obsessed by mathematics. Without one having to know why, she arranges a song to her son Bertie (�here comes the sunshine/here comes that son of mine) as a medieval ballad. Without one having to know why she gives the previously mentioned paean to a washing machine erotic overtones, and that in a way that paraphrases Laura Nyro.

It's just as easy to like the more conceptual second CD, which, without being easier to understand than the poetical bird song that sweetens the music, just makes itself comfortable in the beautifully unbearable lightness of being; from sunset to sunrise.

Aerial is a very pleasant record. Some details can be criticised, but as a whole it is probably her best ever."

Translation courtesy Helena

Original Swedish

Det �r tolv �r sedan Kate Bush gav ut senaste albumet Red shoes. Tolv l�nga �r d� den skygga brittiskan varit mer osynlig �n vanligt.

N�r hon nu kommer tillbaka med ett dubbelalbum � vilket r�kar sammanfalla med ett f�rnyat intresse f�r hennes musik � l�ter det till stora delar som f�rr. Texterna �r lika egensinniga som n�gonsin (det �r inte s� vanligt att man sjunger om sin tv�ttmaskin) och musiken �r fortfarande f�rankrad i det 80-tal som varit dess jordm�n. Musikaliskt inneb�r det � p� gott och ont � att en hel del av Aerial l�ter n�got daterad; med statiskt programmerade etnorytmer, dr�mskt svepande syntmattor och Kate Bush passionerade st�mma sv�vande ovanp� (man v�ntar sig hela tiden att Peter Gabriel ska komma in som duettpartner).

Den f�rsta av de tv� cd-skivorna har getts namnet A sea of honey och har, till skillnad mot den andra, A sky of honey, inget sammanh�llet tema.
Utan att man beh�ver veta varf�r sjunger hon, �ver en Terry Riley-liknande Farfisa-slinga, om en man besatt av matematik. Utan att man beh�ver veta varf�r tons�tter hon en s�ng till sonen Bertie (�here comes the sunshine/here comes that son of mine) som en medeltida ballad. Utan att man beh�ver veta varf�r ger hon den tidigare n�mnda lovs�ngen till tv�ttmaskinen erotiska �vertoner, och det p� ett s�tt som parafraserar Laura Nyro. Bara en s�dan sak.

Lika l�tt �r det att tycka om den mer konceptuellt upplagda andra cd-n, som, utan att bli mer f�rst�elig �n det poetiska f�gelkvitter som f�rgyller musiken, liksom bara finner sig tillr�tta i varats vackert olidliga l�tthet; fr�n soluppg�ng till solnedg�ng.

Aerial �r en v�ldigt behaglig skiva. Granskar man detaljer g�r det att kritisera den, sedd som helhet �r den antagligen hennes b�sta n�gonsin.

Surrealistic Washing
Dagens Nyheter
by Nils Hansson
November 9, 2005

Why can a piece of art take long to finish? Roughly there are two schools. Firstly, the school of spontaneous inspiration, where one works hard for years to find the right frame of mind, and the work of art is created in an instant. Secondly the school of slow handicraft where one hones, adds, subtracts, and changes again.

Kate Bush is very much in the latter category. "Aerial" is here first album in twelve years. The first single, also the opener, "King of the mountain", she wrote already in 1996.
Since then she has been working in varying tempos. And once again it is proved that persistent silence is an excellent method of marketing.

In 1993 "The red shoes" was released, to limited reactions. Her commercial peak was eight years past, and the four year old follow up, had been a disappointment. Only the core audience still cared.

Since then she has consecutively almost burnt herself out on a an ambitious short film project, taken a break of some years, had kids, and tried to live a life as ordinary as possible. Simultaneously the myth about here has grown against her will. Particularly in her native England there is now Kate-mania.

Not that it is particularly surprising, by staying away she left the field wide for speculation, and she has put out some of the more twisted pop albums in history. If one does not want to be seen as an ethereal spirit being, or a mad artist, it might be a good tactic not to sing radically wacky experimental rock with a voice so high pitched it threatened to enter the stratosphere. Which Kate Bush has done with surprising success. Those who believe the large audiences only wants cut out stereotypes, find in her a strong example to the contrary.

When she now gives a musical answer it is as eccentric as always. In "Mrs Bartolozzi" she signs about the everyday of a stay at home mother, it is raining and the kids are drawing in mud that takes hours to clean up. Then she washes the clothes in her new washing machine washing machine washing machine, yes it is kind of a refrain, and looses herself in the spectacle of the clothes going around. It is quite sexual. Later when she has hung the washing she watches the wind blow it.

Despite this she still sounds like a little girl singing about trolls and elves.

Another one, "An architect�s dream", is about the mind-state of an artist, and also there one gets the impression, that she is singing about herself. About how the light changes while you are trying to catch it, and in the end the most satisfying part is the spot that wound up in the canvas by mistake.

"Aerial" is a double album but not overwhelming. It could have been squeezed onto one CD: and it is a carefully balanced album. It opens discreetly, put its weakest tracks early one the two discs, and saves the best for last

She does not sound so wacky any more and the voice is less surrealistic, but one does recognize the piano, the phrasing, the instrumentation and the ambience, and also many of the musicians. For every listening it gets clear that that she is back in her whole artistic gestalt, strong and peculiar, just a bit more mellow."

Translation courtesy Helena

Original Swedish

Varf�r kan ett konstverk ta l�ng tid att f�rdigst�lla? Grovt r�knat finns det tv� skolor. Dels den spontana ingivelsen, d�r man jobbar h�rt i �ratal f�r att n� r�tt tillst�nd f�r att kunna skapa sitt m�sterverk p� tre r�da sekunder. Dels den l�ngsamma hantverket, d�r man sitter och filar och funderar och l�gger till n�got litet f�r att sen �ngra sig och �ndra.

Kate Bush h�r till den senare kategorin. "Aerial" �r hennes f�rsta album p� tolv �r. F�rstasingeln och �ppningssp�ret "King of the mountain" skrev hon redan 1996. Sen dess har hon h�llit p�, i varierande tempo. Och �n en g�ng visar det sig att ih�llande tystnad �r en f�rtr�fflig marknadsf�ringsmetod.

N�r "The red shoes" gavs ut i slutet av 1993 var reaktionerna m�ttliga. Hennes kommersiella topp l�g �tta �r tillbaks i tiden, den fyra �r gamla uppf�ljaren hade varit en besvikelse. Det var mest k�rnpubliken som brydde sig.
Sen dess har hon - i tur och ordning - n�stan br�nt ut sig p� ett ambiti�st kortfilmsprojekt, tagit ett par �rs paus, f�tt barn och f�rs�kt leva ett s� ordin�rt liv som m�jligt. Samtidigt som myten om henne har vuxit, mot hennes vilja. I synnerhet hemma i England r�der det nu n�rmast Kate Bush-hysteri.

Fast s�rskilt f�rv�nande �r det inte. Dels har hon genom att h�lla sig undan l�mnat f�ltet fritt f�r spekulationer. Dels har hon �nd� gett ut n�gra av historiens mest skruvade popskivor. Om man inte vill bli sedd som ett sk�rt andev�sen eller en galen konstn�r kan det vara god taktik att inte sjunga radikalknasig experimentrock med en r�st s� h�gtflygande att den hotar f�rsvinna upp i stratosf�ren.

Vilket allts� Kate Bush har gjort med f�rbluffande framg�ng. Tror man att den stora publiken enbart vill ha formpressade stereotyper finns h�r ett tungt motexempel.

N�r hon nu ger en sorts musikaliskt svar p� tal �r det ungef�r lika excentriskt som vanligt. I "Mrs Bartolozzi" sjunger hon en hemmamammas vardag. Det regnar och ungarna drar in lera, som det tar timmar att svabba upp. Sen tv�ttar hon deras kl�der i sin nya tv�ttmaskin, tv�ttmaskin, tv�ttmaskin (ja, det �r en sorts refr�ng) och f�rlorar sig i sk�despelet n�r kl�derna ormar sig kring varandra. Riktigt sexuellt �r det. Senare, n�r hon har h�ngt tv�tten, studerar hon hur vinden rumsterar om i den.

�nd� l�ter hon fortfarande som en liten flicka som sjunger om troll och �lvor.

En annan l�t, "An architect�s dream", handlar om konstn�rens villkor, och �ven d�r f�r man f�r sig att hon sjunger om sig sj�lv. Om hur ljuset f�r�ndras hela tiden medan man st�r d�r och f�rs�ker f�nga det, och det man i slut�ndan �r mest n�jd med �r fl�cken som hamnade p� duken av misstag.

"Aerial" �r ett dubbelalbum, men inte �verm�ktigt, det hade rent av kunnat tr�ngas in p� en cd. Men d� hade balansen blivit annorlunda, och det h�r �r ett noga balanserat album. Som startar ganska oansenligt, l�gger sina svagaste sp�r tidigt p� b�da skivorna och v�ntar med mycket av det b�sta till cd tv�.

Hon l�ter inte s�rskilt nipprig l�ngre, och r�sten �r mindre surrealistisk. Men man k�nner igen pianot, fraseringarna, s�ttet att instrumentera och bygga st�mningar - samt m�nga av musikerna. F�r varje lyssning blir det allt tydligare att hon faktiskt �r tillbaka i hela sin artistiska gestalt. Lika stark, lika s�regen.

Bara lite lugnare.

Baroque as usual.
Aftonbladet
by Markus Larson
November 9, 2005

(2 stars out of 5)

Kate Bush gives an introvert sermon to the already saved.

3,141592653589793238462643383279...

No you read it right. It's not a misprint. It's the chorus to "pi". That Kate Bush counts decimal numbers is also the most sensational with her first album in 13 years.

The rest is mainly as usually, baroque. Bush mixes yoga music with bird chirps and chamber strings, has great erotic experiences while the clothes mixes in a washing machine and never seems to get over her fascination with mountain and hills.

Kate Bush has somewhat unexpectedly got a kind of renaissance under her long absence. Artists like Robyn has, at least in theory, been able to sell Bush�s complex art pop to a new generation of whom "Wuthering Heights" means zilch.

But without the simple pop drama from "Hounds of Love" and the beautiful ballads from "The Red Shoes" this double album only becomes an introvert sermon to the most fanatical parts of the Bush administration. This double album proves only, with a few exceptions, one thing. Bird chirps sounds better in the forest.

Best song: "Nocturn".

Translation courtesy Helena

Original Swedish

Barockt � som vanligt

Kate Bush ger en introvert predikan till de redan fr�lsta

3,141592653589793238462643383279...

Nej, du l�ste r�tt. Det �r inget tryckfel. Det �r refr�ngen i �pi�. Att Kate Bush r�knar upp decimaler �r ocks� det mest uppseendev�ckande med hennes f�rsta album p� 13 �r.

Resten �r ungef�r som vanligt � barockt. Bush blandar yogamusik med f�gelkvitter och kammarstr�kar, upplever stor erotik n�r kl�der blandas i en tv�ttmaskin och tycks aldrig bli av med sin fascination f�r berg och kullar.

Kate Bush har n�got ov�ntat f�tt en sorts ren�ssans under sin l�nga fr�nvaro. Artister som Robyn har, �tminstone i teorin, s�lt in Bushs komplexa konstpop till en generation f�r vilka �Wuthering heights� inte betyder ett smack.

Men utan den enkla popdramatiken fr�n �Hounds of love� och de vackra balladerna fr�n �The red shoes� blir dubbelskivan bara en introvert predikan till den mest fanatiska avdelningen i Bush-administrationen.

Dubbelskivan bevisar, med n�gra f� undantag, bara en sak. F�gelkvitter l�ter b�ttre i skogen.

B�sta sp�r: �Nocturn�.

Expressen
by Anders Nunstedt
November 9, 2005

(1 star out of 5)

It's been 20 years since "Hounds of Love". 20 years which have built on the myth of Kate Bush�s fabulous excellence. 20 years that seems like light years, even if it's "only" twelve years since the latest album "The Red Shoes". Because this is actually a totally different Kate Bush than the one that owned the alternative MTV (along with Talking Heads "Road To Nowhere") with "Running Up That Hill", one of the most influential singles out of the eighties. It is by all means splendid that Kate Bush has moved on, but to like this spaced out eccentricity you have to be a die-hard fan.

Aerial is divided on two records ("A Sea of Honey" and "A Sky of Honey"), and seems to have two target groups:

1) Hobby artists, preferably those working with pottery.
2) Obsessive audiophiles* who's looking for an alternative to the SACD-edition of Peter Gabriel�s "Up" to demonstrate their stereos with.

The record is filled with ridiculous bird chirps, theatrical laughter from children, pretentious lyrics and silly titles. ("Pi" with a chorus made up by decimal numbers being the worst example).
What is most comical, if you can call it that, when it's a question about monumental disappointment, is that Kate Bush and her overdose on new age-atmospheres and pathetic layers of synthesised sounds, sounds like Enigma.

*TRANSLATORS NOTE: He actually used a much more pejorative word here: "Ljudb�g". It is not possible to translate but it literally means something like "a gay person fussing over audio quality".

Translation courtesy Helena

Original Swedish

Det har g�tt 20 �r sedan "Hounds of love".
20 �r som har byggt p� myten om Kate Bushs fantastiska f�rtr�fflighet.
20 �r som f�refaller som ljus�r, �ven om det "bara" �r tolv �r sedan senaste albumet "The red shoes" kom ut.
Det h�r �r n�mligen en helt annan Kate Bush �n den som �gde det alternativa MTV (j�msides med Talking Heads "Road to nowhere") med "Running up that hill", en av 1980-talets mest inflytelserika singlar.
Det �r i och f�r sig finemang att Kate Bush har g�tt vidare, men de h�r flummiga excentriskheterna m�ste man vara ett h�rdnackat fan f�r att sv�lja.

"Aerial", uppdelad p� tv� skivor ("A sea of honey" och "A sky of honey"), f�refaller ha tv� m�lgrupper:
1) Hobbykonstn�rer, f�retr�desvis s�dana som helst jobbar med lera.
2) Ljudb�gar som s�ker ett alternativ till SACD-utg�van av Peter Gabriels "Up" att demonstera sina stereoanl�ggningar med.
Skivan �r fylld med l�jligt f�gelkvitter, teatrala barnskratt, prettotexter och f�niga titlar ("?", med en refr�ng som best�r av decimaltal, tar f�rst�s priset).
Det mest komiska, om man kan uttrycka sig s� n�r det handlar om en s�dan h�r monumental besvikelse, �r att Kate Bush med sitt �verdoserande av new age-atmosf�rer och patetiska syntsjok l�ter som Enigma.
 

Swedish Television review
Kultur Nyheterna (The culture news)
by Per Sinding Larsen
November 11, 2005 (approx.)

This is a transcription and translation of a review in the form of a conversation between a television show host, and music critic Per Sinding Larsen.

Tv host: First of all Per, why does everybody talk about Kate Bush right now?

Per Sinding Larsen: Well, to be such a private person always entices interest, but I think that most of all it is that she is the dream of all artists come true; a musician exceptional in writing and singing music, that also has negotiated herself complete artistic freedom.

Host: Which she has used to make a double album this time?

PSL: That's right, 16 new songs, divided on two albums, one thematic record and one ordinary pop record.

Host: How do you think it sounds?

PSL: Like Kate Bush. A willful mix of folk, jazz, classic and pop, where the lyrics, the often literary lyrics, takes centre stage the whole time. It reminds me a lot of twenty years old Hounds of Love in both approach and also sometimes in the sound.

Host: And the lyrics? Are they recognizable? What does she sing about this time?

PSL: Well, she still, 20 years later, sings about how lovely it is to climb mountains or roof, but the records are parsed in two, and the first record is like phoning an old friend. She tells us what has happened since the last time. That she has become a mother and that her mother has died, a bit about home decorating and stuff like that. The other record is more poetical about a day in the life embedded in bird song and a child�s voice.

Host: What do you think? Is it good?

PSL: Her voice is still completely fantastic. She has not written any song of the same master craftsmanship as she has before, but despite some flaws this record is as a whole one of her best records ever.

Host: Then I become a bit curious, what are these flaws?

PSL: Well there is one thing I don't understand, maybe it's so she can prove her artistic freedom or to diminish the mystery, but a medieval ballad about her dishcloth love* for her son (shakes his head). I just don�t get it, or the paean to the new washing machine. Where she writes about how fantastic it is to se how it [the washing] interweaves, rolls around in the drum, and how lovely it is with freshly washed laundry.

I think it sound sublime*, thank you so much Per.

----------
* this sounded just as weird in Swedish as in English.

Transcription and translation courtesy Helena.

"The pull and the push of it all..." - Kate Bush

Reaching Out
is a
Marvick - Hill
Willker - Mapes
Fitzgerald-Morris
Grepel - Love-Hounds
Presentation