Kate Bush: 50 Words For Snow - Album Review

Kate Bush
50 Words For Snow
Rating: Grrrr

Eccentric British art-rock goddess Kate Bush is never predictable, releasing music at her own pace and not following any trends. You are not going to hear any hip-hop rhythms or dubstep breaks in her tracks. 50 Words For Snow is only her second release of new material in over 17 years, and is a particularly odd concept album about snow. Each of the tracks touch in some form on snow, winter, and how human beings and nature interact with one another. It is a languorous album, with only 7 tracks, the shortest of which is just under 7 minutes, while the longest clocks in at almost a quarter of an hour. Bush is in no hurry to get to her destination, allowing the songs to breathe and choose their own path. Most of the tracks are composed of merely piano, and delicate backing instrumentation, and of course, Bush's dramatic voice. Only someone like Bush could create music this loopy and strange and make it come out haunting and moving, rather than silly and out of touch.

The album begins without even Bush singing. Her son takes over the reigns at the beginning, using a voice that is surprisingly Bush-like. "Snowflake" is ostensibly a track about a snowflake falling to earth, however, in Bush's capable hands, it transcends any literal interpretation. Bush's one line throughout the track "The world is so loud/Keep falling/I'll find you" transforms the song into a meditation on dreams.



"Lake Tahoe" moves into Scott Walker Drift territory, providing an almost operatic tale of a watery spirit who appears at the edge of the lake in winter searching for her dog. The song continues the albums themes of searching and longing. The almost 12 minute run time borrows from jazz, classical, opera, allowing the listener to be enveloped in the wintry mix of icy pianos and muted percussion.

Lake Tahoe (50 Words For Snow) Kate Bush by niekvdh

Probably the most accessible track on 50 Words For Snow, is album centerpiece "Wild Man," which adds the first noticeable beat and pop song structure. Well, the most structure a song about a yeti can be. Bush identifying with the monster: "I can hear your cry/Echoing 'round the mountainside/
You sound lonely."

Kate Bush - Wild Man by antirecords

Only Kate Bush could write a song about a seduction and sexual encounter with a snowman and have it become a metaphor for the temporal nature of all relationships. "Misty" is one of the many standout tracks on the album; the ghostly piano and minimal strings providing the perfect canvas for Bush's expressive voice, that only seems to get more substantive with age. But Bush is not afraid to allow others to take over the spotlight or collaborate with her equally. On the stunning "Snowed In At Wheeler Street," Bush is shockingly joined by Elton John, who provides one of his most genuinely beautiful vocal performances. Reigning in his usual over-emoting, John adds gravitas to the haunting tale of time and star crossed lovers who are always on the cusp of meeting, but are doomed to be apart.



The only real misstep on the album is the title track "50 Words For Snow," which is literally what the song is about. Using Stephen Fry reciting made up terms for snow, it wastes one of the more interesting musical directions on the record, a deep-seated Middle-Eastern groove, by not transcending the literal trappings of the song.

Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow by DJ Dan Buskirk

At this point in her career, Bush doesn't really have to prove anything to anyone, and can essentially record an album of the sound of grass growing and it would probably be a success. I respect that she takes her art seriously and does whatever she wants. Like Bjork, her most influential and groundbreaking days are likely behind her, but that doesn't prevent her from pushing her aesthetic in new directions. 50 Words For Snow is a most welcome return for Kate Bush, and we can only hope there is not such a long hiatus between this and her next release.

Rating Scale:
Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.
Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.
Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.
Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.
Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.
Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.
Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.