Fresh off a tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of their classic post-grunge debut Sixteen Stone, longstanding English rock outfit Bush returned to the studio to record their eighth album The Kingdom, a fresh burst of a record that revitalizes the band's late-era discography. The timely connection to their no-frills early days resulted in one of the strongest releases of their post-hiatus era, capturing the catchy melodicism and buzzing heaviness that attracted fans to the songwriting in the first place. Hook-heavy and hungry, The Kingdom is aggressive and addictive, recalling the best of Sixteen Stone, Golden State, and The Science of Things on tracks like the anthemic "Crossroads," "Flowers on a Grave," and "Our Time Will Come." It also boasts some of the crunchiest riffs in the Bush catalog, at points wandering into System of a Down ("Quicksand") and even early Tool ("Send in the Clowns") territories. Highlights include the expansive title track, which splits the sky open with frontman Gavin Rossdale's soaring vocals and a precision, near-metal attack by bandmates Chris Traynor, Corey Britz, and Nik Hughes. Aside from one moment of peace (the tender, "Glycerine"-esque "Undone"), The Kingdom is an absolute bounty of riffs that showcases the twin attack from Rossdale and Traynor. Flipping the unevenness and sonic confusion of their three 2010s albums on their heads, Bush take this opportunity to prove that they've still got enough in them beyond '90s nostalgia.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo