Back in 2023, Bush released a Greatest Hits album. It did what it was supposed to do. It reminded people (and by “people” I actually mean “me”) that they were rather good.
Following on from that comes this, and when it comes to “I Beat Loneliness”, the joy is in the nuance (the little things, if you will).
“Scars” is kind of brooding until it explodes in its hook. “Scars,” sings Gavin Rossdale, “are angels written on your body,” before noting, “Pain is a focus for release.”
The fact that this is not a happy record (for all that Rossdale calls it “uplifting” — the uplift comes from catharsis) is clear, but the title track underlines it. Raw, but what is interesting is that it sounds like modern US metal.
This is not the same Bush of 30 years ago — although “I’m the Internet, I’m a silhouette” still proves their rather idiosyncratic approach to lyrics remains — and the barren, dystopian feel continues into the highlight that is “Land Of Milk And Honey.”
Indeed, you could contend that the 2025 version of the band is different to the one before. “We’re All The Same On The Inside” surveys the polarised nature of the world and rejects that, while the heavy “I Am Here To Save Your Life” bristles with an unsettling type of energy.
One of those bands who just have a way of sounding huge, like they belong in arenas, the thunderous drums and riffs on “60 Ways To Forget People” is designed to fill arenas.
The fact that guitarist Chris Traynor has had stints in Helmet shouldn’t be forgotten as he knocks out great slabs of riffs like on “Love Me Till The Pain Fades”, but there’s always something electronic-flavoured to throw you off the scent.
“We Are Of This Earth” passes as a ballad but there’s a touch of Feeder about it, and the calmer waters continue with “Everyone Is Broken” — the type of song that Rossdale will be playing solo at gigs with phone lights shining like stars in the sky for a moment of communion.
A facet of the post-Spotify world where the Internet ruins everything, is we no longer have singles. I can’t go to Easy Listening in Shirley in my lunch break anymore. I can stream “focus tracks”..
There are three of these on “…..Lonliness” and — perhaps unusually — they are all at the end. No deep cuts here, rather “Don’t Be Afraid” is mid paced and polished, “Footsteps In The Sand” is different again, in that its arguably the sort of thing that you’d more associate them with, and the way it builds suggests all the nous that led to them selling records by the million.
They reflect on “Rebel With A Cause”, “remember me” sings Rossdale in a chorus heavy on symbolism.
This, you see, feels a bit like rebirth, albeit its only three years since the last record.
Whether it is or isn’t, though, like all Bush records, “I Beat Lonliness” is designed to to win plenty of friends.
Rating 8/10
