Record Roulette Double Feature: The Kick Inside/Hounds of Love
Welcome back to Record Roulette! After a long two weeks of writers' block and many hours scouring the universe for an album that excites me, I'm thrilled to bring you this week's double feature on the queen of quirk-pop: Kate Bush.
We are now living through a Kate Bush Renaissance thanks to Stranger Things' use of "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" as the theme to pivotal plot points throughout season four. Bush reacted to the song's resurgence on her website, saying, "[Season four] features the song, 'Running Up That Hill', which is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show." As usual, Gen-Z has now fully adopted Bush as an icon, but this isn't the first time she's been a guiding light for young outcasts and music freaks.
Kate Bush is admired by many, including past collaborators Peter Gabriel, Prince, and Elton John and artists like St. Vincent and Mitski, who claim Bush as their inspiration. Her music has always been experimental pop with spiritually feminine undertones. The New Yorker's Margaret Talbot says, "She's got credit for her pioneering use of the Fairlight synthesizer… for producing her own albums, and for evolving an ahead-of-its-time sound that combined heavy bass with the ethereal high notes, swoops, and screeches of her own remarkable voice."
Bush began her upward climb to stardom at nineteen, with the release of her debut album, 1978's The Kick Inside. You may be familiar with the song "Wuthering Heights," in which Bush went against record executives to release as the lead single. Her defiance would ultimately lead to "Wuthering Heights" shooting to #1 and Bush being the first female artist in the UK to top the charts with a self-written song.
The Kick Inside is a polarizing album. You have to open your mind to the strange and allow Bush's voice to wrap around you like an itchy wool blanket. There are a lot of experimental sounds for the time, especially in tracks like "The Saxophone Song," but the majority of the record is Bush and her piano.
Her signature falsetto lingers throughout "Kite" and "Them Heavy People," but my favorite song has to be "The Man with the Child in His Eyes." It's softer, Bush's voice a little lower, less jarring than the rest of the record. It almost reminds me of a Joni Mitchell song; more mature and less guarded than, say, "James and the Cold Gun."
The Kick Inside is a perfect match for those who love Rocky Horror Picture Show- especially "Strange Phenomena," which is somewhat reminiscent of "Science Fiction/Double Feature." If you're looking to begin your Kate Bush journey, The Kick Inside should be your first stop.
Now that we've covered the basics, let's dive into 1985's Hounds of Love, "[Bush's] strongest album to date [which] marked her breakthrough into the American charts, and yielded a set of dazzling videos as well as an enviable body of hits," says AllMusic's Bruce Eder.
Hounds of Love is certifiably eighties but maintains her unique sound, which holds the listener captive. "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" was another of Bush's hit singles, and for a good reason. 37 years later, the song is reintroducing Kate Bush to a new generation of fans, perhaps those who need her most. From this record, the title track has to be my favorite- an orchestral buildup and Bush belting the lyrics, "I've always been a coward, I don't know what's good for me." It doesn't get better than that.
"Cloudbusting" is what I imagine would play at the pivotal moment in a John Hughes movie, when the guy gets the girl and realizes what he's been missing this whole time. You get wrapped up in it, waiting for the moment where she belts out the song's climax, but it never comes. Instead, you're left wanting more, but Kate Bush knows best, so she ambushes you with a piano ballad, "And Dream of Sheep," directly after. A few tracks later, we get "Waking the Witch,” an apt name for my 5am alarm and arguably the strangest moment of Hounds. The entire song is Bush fighting for the spotlight from a demonic voice, similar to the end of "Thriller." It's glitchy and weird, but that's just Kate being Kate.
Hounds of Love should be your second stop on your cosmic Kate Bush journey. She's more confident in her sound and loses the childlike voice and starry-eyed mindset from The Kick Inside. The latter is still an essential listen, but Hounds demonstrates the breadth of Bush's catalog.
I highly recommend pairing these two albums together in one listening session. Both clock in around 45 minutes, so you’d have to put aside an hour and a half exclusively for Kate Bush. I wouldn’t play these two while having company over unless your friends are also into ethereal ‘80s pop. Either way, The Kick Inside and Hounds of Love are quintessential Kate albums and are only an introduction to everything Bush has to offer.
Listen to Kate Bush on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube