|
Past: Gavin Rossdale = Bush and Bush = Post-Grunge
Rock. Now: Gavin Rossdale = melodic love songs. Eh? As a long time
Bush fan, I had to give the once angry lead singer his fair shot and
really give the album a listen.
Wanderlust just hit stores this summer and already it has
a hit single. "Love Remains The Same" has been seen on The
Ellen Show and even [in] a movie trailer. And it's apparent that
the fan base for this new project from Gavin is geared towards a slightly
different set of people. With the first song "Can't Stop The
World", already the tempo is slower, the tone is higher and the
lyrics aren't as hard as what we all were accustomed to. The future
is bright and optimistic, sure I can accept that. "Forever May
You Run" starts off as a quite beautiful song. Very soft and
simple. A mostly acoustic song, it begs for a slow dance at a prom.
The higher octaves that Gavin hits on this album fit nicely with this
one. "Future World" is probably one of the most unique songs
on the album. Starting off with purely vocals and a basic drum beat,
it sucks you in to listen to the rest of the song. The chorus takes
a bit of a pop turn, becoming very catching and lighter than everything
else, yet the mixture of some prominent guitar riffs and a female
backup, keeps that uniqueness flowing throughout. You finally come
to the hit single at #7. Normally the hit songs sit nearer to the
beginning, about the #2 or #4 spot, requiring you to listen to at
least a song or two before getting to the one that was most likely
the reason you bought the CD in the first place. So putting it smack
dab in the middle has a slight risk, although, for the envelopes that
Bush pushed years ago, this is nothing. As love ballads go, this is
one of the best I've heard. "Everything will change, but love
remains the same" are very simple and basic lyrics yet produce
a strong emotion out of anyone listening. It's no "Glycerine,"
but still one of my favorites.
After the hit song, you really have to show your stuff in order to
keep the fans going. "If You're Not With Us, You Are Against
Us" is the first song that I thought "wait, is this Bush?"
It's dark, somber, and harsh. "Bravery if you think you can take
us/Bravery if you think you can beat us" is perfect for anyone
trying to psych themselves up or about to tackle a huge challenge.
"This Is Happiness" continues that feeling of "Bush-ness"
that obviously still lingers in not only Gavin but Chris Traynor
(guitarist- also formerly of Bush). This song is chaotic, almost unstructured.
There's really no rhyme or reason to it, it simply is. And it requires
a couple listens before really appreciating it.
The final song isn't really a song at all. "This Place Is On
Fire" clocks in at about a minute long. There are no instruments
or backup vocals. It's purely Gavin and a synthesizer. It kind of
brings a psychedelic ending to the album. Perhaps it came from the
deep realms of Rossdale's mind or it was simply something recorded
while messing around. Either way I'm not going to try to understand
it, I'll simply enjoy. If you really want to experience it, watch
it on a visualizer on some type of media player.
If you're trying to debate whether to buy this album, I don't blame
you. For the new audience, it'll be a hit, I'm sure of it. For the
long time Bush fans it could go one of two ways: either you'll buy
it and love it out of respect for Gavin and his genius, or you'll
just try to hold on to the fond memories of "Machinehead"
and "Cold Contagious." It's up to you.
-Rachel Fredrickson
Check out more
reviews
 Talk
Back
e-mail the chief
Like this article?
e-mail
it to a friend!
|
Gavin
Rossdale 
