Bush return after a 10 year hiatus to deliver the closest album to Sixteen Stone they have. Sixteen Stone is the unquestioned masterpiece by the band and they have tried to re-create that album ever since its release in 1996.
When a band re-unites and does a comeback album one of two things happen:
- The album shows how much the musicians have grown and has a more grown-up sound.
- The band tries to sound exactly like they did in their peak.
Bush’s The Sea of Memories falls into the second category. Gavin Rossdale’s vocals sound exactly the same and they are backed by the same heavy distortion and stop and start techniques. This album sounds like it could have been recorded back in the late 1990s. This is a good thing in some ways and a bad thing in other ways.
“Afterlife” sports the same arena rock dreams that Bush’s early material did. “She’s A Stallion” drives the same distinct Bush style as anything on Razorblade Suitcase. The single “The Sound of Winter” may not have the surface appeal of “The Chemicals Between Us” but is still a very solid candidate for a greatest hits album that is sure to be released in the next few years.
“All Night Doctors” has Rossdale trying to display his sensitive side as he sings along with just a piano all the way through the first chorus. That is when the mega-distorted electric guitar kicks in that is just a little too close to “Glycerine” for comfort. At Target you can get a bonus disc of 6 songs; three average B-sides and three terrible remixes that will make your ears bleed.
Key Tracks: “The Sound of Winter” “Afterlife”
Vocals On Top 