For their third album,
The Science of Things,
Bush returned to
Clive Langer and
Alan Winstanley, the
Madness producers who helmed
Sixteen Stone, but along the way, they fell out with the duo.
Rossdale claimed the two were only credited on the album for legal reasons, and that the real work was done by the band with engineer
Tom Elmhirst, which is probably true, since it's slicker than
Razorblade Suitcase but doesn't glisten like
Stone.
Science is carefully crafted and sequenced, flowing nicely from hard rockers to power ballads, and it plays better than the disjointed
Razorblade Suitcase due to studiocraft, since the measured, detailed production fleshes out songs held together by a bare minimum of hooks and melodies. Without hooks,
Rossdale's emotive, gut-wrenching vocals and the band's hard, heavy delivery are all this record has to offer. Still,
Bush's earnestness is unavoidable, and they're undoubtedly sincere and have delivered a professional record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine