Josh Hurst is loving it:
“The album is, in a sense, about snow as a symbolic, physical, historic, mythological, and sensual thing. It considers snow as an idea, and as a tangible object in a physical universe. What this means, I think, is that this is the strangest and most erotic holiday album of all time. I’m half joking—there is only one mention of Christmas here—but half not. The wintery mood here is unshakable, the unwavering focus utterly enthralling. This is a sublime album made of seven extraordinary songs, and it offers true delights of poetry and play that no one but Kate Bush could have devised. Poetry and play—yes, those are the twin engines here; the long running time of these songs, and their fanciful approximation of snow, suggests that Bush is almost lost in her own world, letting her own imagination run away with her … 50 Words for Snow is a true marvel, an album that teases with layers of meaning and a steady stream of ideas but never allows for easy summary. It is evocative, but elusive, and its joys come not in pinning it down but in allowing it to dance in front of you, all of its playful poetry and ravishing romance on display...”
Rod
That’s a great read. Yes, 50 Words is “sublime” in the real sense of the word. For me, he kind of skips over tonight’s treat from katebush.com, ‘Misty’ a little, ignoring the hint of incantation and the image of the bright red stain of the dripped blood on the virgin snow as the character in the song hurries indoors; but he is right in implying it boldy is what it is; humping a snowman. And who among us can hold up their hand and say they haven’t done that?