Bush (X) Announce Comeback Album. Does Anyone Care?

New Bush (Photo via bushofficial.com)

After 10 years of inactivity, the UK's official 90s "grunge" participants are releasing an album of all new material, including fresh out of the wrapper guitarist Chris Traynor and bass player Corey Britz. The first single, The Sound of Winter, is available for your streaming pleasure right here. The full length album titled The Sea of Memories is expected to drop in September 2011.

And that's all it really should have been left at...memories.

I've always had a tough time with bands that keep their original name and are shades of their former self in terms of personnel and sound (see: Melon, Blind). A name change would be the proper course of action, but I do understand the power of an established brand. On the flip side, if Apple started installing the Microsoft OS (and kept the look and PR for the product) would it feel right if they still called the product a Mac?

Of course not. This is how I feel about the latest version of Bush. My curiosity was piqued when I heard about the new single. I listened to it and thought "Sigh...". This sounds like the WORST song on Razorblade Suitcase, which is an insult to that poor song on Bush's second release. You see, this all went downhill when Bush became the Gavin Rossdale show. I've seen them live and it was all about Rossdale prancing around stage as buttons became undone, until his shirt was but a wardrobial memory. Did all of the initial success go to his pretty little head? Most definetly. Shit he scored a sweet rocker girl who became a harajukuing empire. How could it not.

As much as Rossdale was the driving force behind the songwriting, former guitarist Nigel Pulsford and bassist Robin Goodridge added an essential element to the band's sound. The sonic texture that Pulsford threw into the mix with his axe was and still is unsung. What do you remember about Everything Zen from 16 Stone? That wicked sliding guitar part of course, brought to you by the bald lead guitarist. Some might believe that everyone beside the singer is replaceable, but that's a bogus theory. Look at what happened when Mike Turner left OLP: the sound totally changed. Some say for the best, some don't.

Maybe I'm being too hard on Rossdale and Co. Maybe I can't let go of the nifty nineties. Maybe I expect too much from a band 10 years removed from their last album. These are all possible reasons why I'm not feeling this. I will give The Sea of Memories a chance. If it's as awesome as I've built it up to be, this will be the last time you'll read about Bush from me.

-Paqman