Bush
Black And White Rainbows

Three years after the good “Man On The Run,” the British band Bush return with a new work entitled “Black An White Rainbows.”

Released through Zuma Records (and produced by the charismatic frontman Gavin Rossdale), the new work proceeds along the now established sonic paths of the London quartet. Being the third album released after their 2010 reunion, one could expect a certain stabilization in the band’s sound, which indeed has occurred.

During the pre-release period, Rossdale was cautious, hinting at a more commercial and accessible sound for this work: something only partially true, as the first single released (curiously placed at the end of the tracklist) “People At War” is a beautiful, hazy ballad that is not very radio-friendly (consistent with the topic addressed since the piece was presented last year at the World Refugee Day held in Florence).

“Mad Love,” the leading single with a video, comes closer to the description given by the frontman, as it is a very melodic midtempo track with a catchy chorus: not among the best tracks of the album (perhaps not helped by its placement as the album opener) but it’s a listenable piece.

Things get better, much better, when the band, in addition to Rossdale’s warm and beautiful voice, leans on the frantic six-string of the underrated Traynor, see “Peace-S,” “Nurse,” and “The Beat Of Your Heart” (not coincidentally chosen) as a promotional single.

The ballads, always a strength of the English combo, are always convincing and well-calibrated: this time, “Lost In You” (already performed live previously) and the aforementioned “People At War” stand out. Elsewhere, however, it treads slightly into tackiness, as in the case of “Toma Mi Corazon”; the choice to perform part of the vocals in Spanish wasn't great, and perhaps given the fifty-seven minutes duration of the album (for fifteen tracks) some trimming could have been done.

Ultimately, this is a good work by Bush, which revolutionizes absolutely nothing (nor was it expected to), but it is listenable and, as usual, adds some good fuel to the fire of pop rock.

Best track: “Peace-s”