The Kingdom

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 bands 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 Rossdales 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 theyve still got enough in them beyond 90s nostalgia. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

再結成後は3年おきにリリースしてきたアルバムもこれで4枚目(通算8作目)。〈グランジへのUKからの回答〉と謳われた90年代に囚われない音作りを追求してきた彼らが、今回めざしたのはリフで聴かせるロック。黄金時代の彼らが戻ってきたという声もある。確かにギャヴィン・ロスデイルの歌は変わらずニヒルだ。しかし、リフそのものはメタリック。ここにはこれまででいちばんヘヴィーなブッシュがいる。
bounce (C)山口智男