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The Kingdom (Bush album)

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The Kingdom
Studio album by
Bush
Released17 July 2020
Recorded2019
Genre
Length47:13 (standard)
73:03 (deluxe)
LabelBMG
Producer
Bush chronology
Black and White Rainbows
(2017) 		The Kingdom
(2020) 		The Art of Survival
(2022)
Singles from The Kingdom
  1. "Bullet Holes"
    Released: 17 May 2019
  2. "Flowers on a Grave"
    Released: 3 March 2020
  3. "The Kingdom"
    Released: 17 July 2020
  4. "Blood River" / "Quicksand"
    Released: 2 October 2020

The Kingdom is the eighth studio album by English rock band Bush. It was originally scheduled to be released in May 2020[3] but it was later pushed back to a release date of 17 July 2020.[4] The band released two singles prior to the album, the first being "Bullet Holes" which was released in May 2019 and featured in the film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and the second single off the album was "Flowers on a Grave" and was released one year later in March 2020.

Although in part continuing the electronic-tinged alternative sound of the band's other post-reunion efforts, The Kingdom featured a harder sound than some of its previous efforts, with the songs being driven by guitar riffs.[1][5] Described by frontman Gavin Rossdale as "snapshots of real life", the album's lyrics included many personal themes such as being misunderstood, taking major decisions and rising above challenges.[6]

Background and title of album

Frontman Gavin Rossdale told Loudwire in May 2018 that he intended to release a "heavier" successor to 2017's Black and White Rainbows, with Rossdale intending to begin recording following the conclusion of the band's Summer 2018 tour.[7] In May 2019, Bush set The Mind Plays Tricks on You as the title of their new studio album, tentatively due in fall 2019.[8] This provisional title is a lyric in the album track "Undone".

Recorded in Los Angeles,[9] The Kingdom was the first Bush album on which Robin Goodridge did not perform,[10][better source needed] who had played as the drummer for the band since 1993.[11] This left Gavin Rossdale as the only remaining member from the lineup that recorded the first four Bush studio albums from Sixteen Stone (1994) to Golden State (2001), prior to the group's 2002 hiatus.

In March 2020, Bush formally announced their new album, re-titled The Kingdom, slated for a May 2020 release.[12] The announcement was simultaneous with the release of the album's second single "Flowers on a Grave".

Content

Gavin Rossdale remarked in May 2018 that the next Bush album would contain "heavier" songs written from an "angrier perspective".[7]

According to The Upcoming, Bush brought "electronic-laced alternative rock" to the new record, comparable to their previous effort Black and White Rainbows.[1] Conversely, Kerrang! stated that The Kingdom presented "a far heavier, more riff-based and muscular approach" that its 2017 predecessor.[5] Rolling Stone Magazine opined The Kingdom to be a grunge effort, akin to the band's earliest work.[2]

Gavin Rossdale described the lyrics of The Kingdom as "snapshots of real life and cycles of attrition".[6] "Send in the Clowns" chronicled feelings of being misunderstood,[6] "Crossroads" recounted taking decisions in life,[6] while "Falling Away" narrated a feeling of personal freedom.[6] Rossdale remarked in an interview with LouderSound that "Our Time Will Come" relayed "looking through anything bleak in your life and realising that amazing things are happening and amazing things will come".[6] "Blood River" was inspired by the "blood red" colour of the water at The Devil's Pulpit, a gorge in Finnich Glen, Stirlingshire, Sctotland.[13]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic57/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
American Songwriter[15]
Entertainment Focus[16]
Kerrang![5]
Rolling Stone[2]

The Kingdom received an aggregate score of 57/100 from Metacritic suggesting "mixed or average reviews".[14]

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic was heavily lauding of The Kingdom,[9] declaring it "an absolute bounty of riffs" and to "recall the best" of past releases such as Golden State and The Science of Things.[9]

Macie Bennett of American Songwriter gave a positive 4-out-of-5 star review, and opined that Bush "may have released its best yet" with The Kingdom.[15]

British publication Entertainment Focus gave a highly praising review, and remarked that the record saw Bush "creating some of the most interesting, and diverse, music in the rock genre right now", and that it was an "addictive record" that should "see the band's popularity soar again".[16]

A review by Paul Travers for Kerrang! was strongly positive, hailing The Kingdom "a return to Bush’s glory days".[5]

Rolling Stone's Kory Grow gave mostly negative feedback, detailing that the songs "trudge through the same monochromatic grunge" of earlier releases.[2] Grow further dismissed the record's music as derivative, commenting that the single "Bullet Holes" "musically, rips off U2’s “Bullet the Blue Sky”".[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gavin Rossdale, unless otherwise noted

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Flowers on a Grave"
3:45
2."The Kingdom"
3:47
3."Bullet Holes"
  • Rossdale
  • Bates
3:47
4."Ghosts in the Machine"
  • Rossdale
  • Bates
4:15
5."Blood River"
  • Rossdale
  • Bates
4:20
6."Quicksand"
  • Rossdale
  • Bates
3:59
7."Send in the Clowns" 4:13
8."Undone" 5:02
9."Our Time Will Come" 3:50
10."Crossroads" 3:15
11."Words Are Not Impediments" 3:08
12."Falling Away" 3:52
Total length:47:13
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Heroes"
4:09
14."Beware False Prophets" 4:40
15."Live Another Day" 3:35
16."Undone" (featuring Mike Garson) 5:51
17."Flowers on a Grave" (Live in Los Angeles)
  • Rossdale
  • Traynor
3:48
18."The Kingdom" (Live in Los Angeles)
  • Rossdale
  • Bates
3:47
Total length:73:03

Personnel

  • Gavin Rossdale – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Chris Traynor – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Corey Britz – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Gil Sharone - drums (all tracks except “The Kingdom” & “Flowers on a Grave”)
  • Nik Hughes – drums

Charts

Chart performance for The Kingdom
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 49
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 35
Scottish Albums (OCC)[19] 46
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 27
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[21] 14
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[22] 4

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Betts, Emma-Jane (17 July 2020). "Bush - The Kingdom - Album Review". The Upcoming. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Grow, Kory (17 July 2020). "Bush's Songs Remain the Same on 'The Kingdom'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  3. ^ Erickson, Anne (3 March 2020). "Bush Announce New Album, Tour Dates with Breaking Benjamin". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  4. ^ "BUSH's 'The Kingdom' Album Gets Official Release Date". Blabbermouth. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Travers, Paul (17 July 2020). "Album Review: Bush - The Kingdom". Kerrang!. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Edwards, Briony (17 July 2020). "Gavin Rossdale's track-by-track guide to Bush's new album The Kingdom". LouderSound. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Bush's Gavin Rossdale Teases New Album". Loudwire. 16 May 2018.
  8. ^ "BUSH To Release 'The Mind Plays Tricks On You' Album In The Fall". Blabbermouth. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d Yeung, Neil Z. "The Kingdom - Bush". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Dig Me Out - Substack". Bush - The Kingdom. 25 July 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Nigel Pulsford interview (2009)". BBC Wales - Music. 12 November 2009.
  12. ^ "Bush Announces Highly Anticipated New Album, The Kingdom". Bass Magazine. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  13. ^ "BUSH's GAVIN ROSSDALE Says 'The Kingdom' Album Is 'Very Human'". Blabbermouth. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  14. ^ a b "The Kingdom by Bush". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  15. ^ a b Bennett, Macie (16 July 2020). "Bush May Have Released Its Best Album With 'The Kingdom'". American Songwriter. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  16. ^ a b Ellwood-Hughes, Pip (17 July 2020). "Bush – The Kingdom album review". Entertainment Focus. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Bush – The Kingdom" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bush – The Kingdom" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Bush – The Kingdom". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
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