HOUNDS OF LOVE

The incredible Hounds of Love represents the culmination of Kate Bush's musical experimentations from her debut album to The Dreaming; in particular, the combination of traditional Irish music and her characteristic art rock style that pervades the album is a direct followup to Night of the Swallow on the preceding album. Combining a set of individual songs about different kinds of love on the first side with the art rock epic The Ninth Wave (comprising the songs on the second side), the album represents a progressive and artistic peak in Bush's output, and an emotionally moving experience which manages to be warm and comforting without ever being saccharine or twee. An incredible achievement.