via//chicago

np: "Cold Contagious" - Bush

If you ask me, I think its a shame that Gavin Rossdale and Bush have become something of a punching bag for critics and shorthand for "generic mid-90s alt-rock". I'm not going to try and tell you that Bush was some woefully understood and currently under appreciated band, but I hope they don't get swept into the dustbin of rock history quite so quickly. For one, they were a pretty decent singles band. Their run from debut single "Everything Zen" to "Greedy Fly" stacks up pretty well with any other alt-rock staple of that era, and later singles like "The Chemicals Between Us" and "Letting the Cables Sleep" still sound decent to these ears. I'd certainly rather hear "Machinehead" again than, I don't know, Tonic or something. Another reason to keep Bush in mind? Gavin Rossdale, in addition to be a good looking man in his day, had the perfect voice for alt-rock radio whether paired up with crashing guitars or detuned violins. He just sounded perfectly of his time and place in 90s rock music.

But the reason I'm bringing up this band today? Their seemingly frowned upon second album, Razorblade Suitcase. I'll agree that this band's career was a huge case of diminishing returns, but I'll argue that the downward spiral didn't begin until after this album - not with, as many seem to want to claim. I think this still, even in 2008, stands out as the band's strongest album - even if Sixteen Stone had the better singles. Why? Two words - Steve Albini. It can certainly be argued, and I won't disagree, that Bush was suffering from lazy Nirvana worship when they tapped Albini to produce that "difficult" follow-up to a multi-platinum debut. I think it was the best thing they could have done, if a bit surprising for a band with such a huge radio sheen turning to a well-known cantankerous, noisenik. Albini made this the best sounding album of Bush's career, bar none. No other post-grunge alt-rock band ever sounded this, well, grungy. Filled as it was with strangled guitars and muddy drums. This is what grunge should have sounded like to me. Not the crisp power balladry of Candlebox. And the sound suited Bush pretty well, as far as I'm concerned. The lyrics, never a strong suit for this band, seemed to make a little more sense when dirtied up and not straining for an obvious pop hook. The hooks were there for sure, check out the huge chorus that drove "Swallowed" to number one on the Modern Rock charts, but none of them came easy. There were mis-steps, "Bonedriven", for example, was way too obvious of a "Glycerine" re-write for anyone's tastes, but I'll defend this as the band's crowning achievement any day. It may have meant their massive audience dwindling to cult status, but I'd have loved for them to have continued in this vein. Unfortunately they followed the muse of that awful "Mouth" remix from the crappy werewolf movie and lost the plot after that.

[While looking up the chart position for "Swallowed", I saw on the band's wikipedia page that Gavin has announced a Bush reunion in 2009. Really? Already? Apparently the failure of Institute and his solo career have left Rossdale's coffers dry.]

Bush - "Cold Contagious" (taken from Razorblade Suitcase)
Bush - "Greedy Fly" (taken from Razorblade Suitcase)