We never would have guessed that the resurgent act of 2022 would have been Kate Bush. But after her Stranger Things feature with the eternally blissful ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’, she’s made the world shake once again as she should have when this album initially dropped in 1986.
Regardless, the years have shown this to be a beast of a record loaded with rich songwriting and layered production embracing electronics and sampling in an incredibly forward-thinking fashion. It’s easy to forget that Bush was an early pioneer of the genre with her use of these instrumental palettes and deeper concepts for the genre.
Bush has a long-standing affinity for enriching her albums with more thoughtful themes like her bizarre Australian accent when exploring the idea of the Dreamtime in 1982’s ‘The Dreaming’. Regardless, it’s at its most effective here. This was the album that dethroned ‘Like A Virgin’ from the UK album charts and set a new precedent for pop music, and with singles like ‘Cloudbusting’, the euphoric ‘Big Sky’ or the bombastic title track, it’s easy to see with hindsight why this is a complete gem and a pop masterpiece.
It’s funny to think that my first recommendation for Kate Bush was from Outkast’s Big Boi and I can only remember Kate Bush as “music for people with a bit of extra money” courtesy of Sleaford Mods. But the album soars above these strange introductions on the merits of its quality and vision and is a must for any collection (if you can get a copy).
‘Hounds Of Love’ and other selected works are available in the Store now. #vinyl #houndsoflove