REVIEW:
33 1/3: Kate Bush – Hounds of Love by Leah Kardos
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THE author…
IN THIS PHOTO: Leah Kardos/PHOTO CREDIT: Madeline Randall
Leah Kardos has given interviews about a very exciting book. You can read one here. The 33 1/3 series are smaller, handy deep dives into great albums. Published by the great Bloomsbury. Many of the classics have been covered off through the years. There has been a bit of a gap in the series. Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love might seem hard to distil into a smaller book. However, you can pre-order it ahead of its release on Thursday (14th November). Before going inside the book, here is some information about Hounds of Love and Leah Kardos’s must-own guide to one of the best and most important albums ever:
”Hounds Of Love invites you to not only listen, but to cross the boundaries of sensory experience into realms of imagination and possibility. Side A spawned four Top 40 hit singles in the UK, 'Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)', 'Cloudbusting', 'Hounds of Love' and 'The Big Sky', some of the best-loved and most enduring compositions in Bush's catalogue. On side B, a hallucinatory seven-part song cycle called The Ninth Wave broke away from the pop conventions of the era by using strange and vivid production techniques that plunge the listener into the psychological centre of a near-death experience. Poised and accessible, yet still experimental and complex, with Hounds Of Love Bush mastered the art of her studio-based songcraft, finally achieving full control of her creative process. When it came out in 1985, she was only 27 years old.
This book charts the emergence of Kate Bush in the early-to-mid-1980s as a courageous experimentalist, a singularly expressive recording artist and a visionary music producer. Track-by-track commentaries focus on the experience of the album from the listener's point of view, drawing attention to the art and craft of Bush's songwriting, production and sound design. It considers the vast impact and influence that Hounds Of Love has had on music cultures and creative practices through the years, underlining the artist's importance as a barrier-smashing, template-defying, business-smart, record-breaking, never-compromising role model for artists everywhere”.
I am going to come to the book soon. It is a timely moment to release a book about Hounds of Love. An album always played and talked about, it is in the spotlight in a big way now. Kate Bush News were among those who reported how the new Special Editions have been nominated for a GRAMMY. In fact, Kate Bush and her son Albert have received a nod for their work on it. At a time when Bush has teased the possibility of new music, it is nice that her most acclaimed album is still getting focus and adulation. It would be great for Hounds of Love to get a GRAMMY! Forbes provide more details:
“Kate Bush has not released new music in many years, though lately, she’s shared publicly that she’s eager to work on more material. The British superstar has been nominated for several Grammys throughout her career, but not for quite a long time, and she’s never won anything. As of this morning (November 8), the singer-songwriter has several more chances to finally collect some gold—but will she take home a prize?
The somewhat reclusive musician is nominated for two Grammys this year. She’s up for a pair of related awards, for very similar projects, as clearly Recording Academy voters seem interested in recognizing her work and her talent.
Bush is nominated for both Best Recording Package and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, for different versions of the same album. She’s up for the first prize for The Baskerville Edition of her hugely popular full-length Hounds of Love. Another take on Hounds of Love, known as The Boxes of Lost at Sea, is competing for the latter award.
These nods mark Bush’s first time at the Grammys as a nominee in nearly 30 years. She was last up for any honors in 1996, when The Line, the Cross and the Curve was in the running for Best Music Film.
Before then, Bush had already earned a pair of Grammy nominations. The Whole Story made the rising star a first-time possible winner in the late ‘80s, as it was included in the Best Concept Music Video category—a trophy that was only given out twice.
Three years later, The Sensual World was up for Best Alternative Music Album in that vertical’s first time at the ceremony. Bush ended up losing that golden gramophone to Sinéad O'Connor’s I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.
Bush faces tough competition in the two fields, but she should be considered a serious contender for one, if not both awards. She is one of many artists who have never won a Grammy whose legacy has grown throughout the years. The English star is often listed among the musicians who haven’t yet claimed a trophy but who are overdue for such an honor. After returning to prominence not long ago following her years-old song "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" becoming a global viral sensation, and a recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Bush’s time may finally have come.
In the Best Recording Package category, Bush is the most famous actual nominee, though her album is up against projects from stars like Post Malone, Charli XCX, and The Avett Brothers. If Bush wants to win Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, she’ll have to beat John Lennon’s son Sean Ono Lennon, who earns his first nomination this year after reworking his father’s album Mind Games. That title is likely her biggest competition, though any of the other four nominees could rise to the top”.
How do you possibly go about assessing and unpacking Hounds of Love?! People have written about it before. Graeme Thomson dedicated a lot of pages in his book, Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush, to the album. However, this is a book solely dedicated to Hounds of Love. One that goes inside the songs, talks about Kate Bush as a producer – which is not discussed about enough – and the legacy of Hounds of Love. I love how Leah Kardos opens talking about the impact of Hounds of Love and how it is this high watermark of Art-Pop and Rock. This classic that was not recorded at a hurried pace. After some stress and going from studio to studio for The Dreaming and the personal toll that took, Hounds of Love was an album given more time to breathe. Recorded in a bespoke specially-constructed studio right by her family home at East Wickham Farm, this was an artist in a position where she could mould an album more in keeping with her own vision and timespan. As such, what resulted is an album that Bush was very proud of, as Kardos notes in the book: “As years pass, the album continues to accrue cultural value. Music publications like Rolling Stone, Q, NME, Uncut and Mojo have voted Hounds Of Love among the greatest albums of all time. In their 2016 retrospective review, Pitchfork gave the album a perfect ten out of ten, with critic Barry Walters lauding it as ‘the Sgt. Pepper of the digital age’s dawn; a milestone in penetratingly fanciful pop’ In a 1985 interview with Musician, Bush said her newest album was ‘the one I’m most happy with’. Twenty years later, speaking to Tom Doyle for Mojo, she admitted that she still felt proud of how Hounds Of Love turned out, calling it, ‘probably my best album as a whole”.
Kardos reflects on the success Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) has been afforded through the years. From the 2012 remix for the Olympics through the new wave of success it was afforded after appearing in Stranger Things – where it reached number one in the charts in 2022 -, its sister album is never far from public consciousness. Kardos acknowledges how fortunate she is to write the book at this time. Rightly noting how the 33 1/3 series has lacked Kate Bush’s presence. It is good to go in learning about Hounds of Love and how important an album it is. It is striking how Kardos wisely notes how Bush’s music provides a place of escape and comfort. For outsiders or those who are struggling, one reason why Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) was so powerful in Stranger Things is because of its placement. The marriage between song and scene. How many hold Hounds of Love up because it spoke to them. It is an album many people identify with. Its songs give voice and strength to so many. I also feel like 1985 was a time when Bush was perhaps revealing more of herself. I always feel songs such as Hounds of Love are autobiographical. At least more personal than she would let on. The album’s second side, The Ninth Wave, about this struggle to stay afloat and alive in water with no sign of rescue – until it does happen. Definitely, Bush letting out some of her fears and demons. Hounds of Love remains timeless because of its spectacular production and the incredible brilliance of the songwriting. Ahead of its fortieth anniversary next year – Hounds of Love was released on 16th September, 1985 -, it is a perfect moment to order this book. I know there will be huge celebration next year. Magazines dedicated to the album, perhaps.
In addition to discussing the making of Hounds of Love, the beauty of the songs and the acclaim the album has won, Kardos also discusses its architect. How the album gets a lot of acclaim, but maybe Kate Bush as a producer, innovator and visionary is not quite as acknowledged as she should be. As Kardos observes early on in her book, Kate Bush was and is “A woman who kicked some big doors down, making so much possible for everyone who came after her”. I do love how the chapters are organised and the fact we do not race straight into the songs. The First Woman explores achievements from Kate Bush. How 1980’s Never for Ever went straight to number one and, in the process, making her the first women to enter the U.K. album chart at that position. She was only twenty-two. One error in the recent Today interview was when Emma Barnett said how Wuthering Heights reaching number in 1978 made Kate Bush the youngest woman to have a self-written song hit the number one spot in the U.K. singles chart. Not the youngest. She was the first (and, technically, the youngest by default)! It was clear Hounds of Love was not a fluke or a massive leap forward. The genius and brilliance was always there. However, as a number one album and one that remains a favourite for many, it is understandable why we need a book that goes into depth about a masterpiece. Before we get to Hounds of Love, there is this chronological run-up. Words on how Bush was able to exert more influence and was given more responsibility to craft music her own way. Kardos notes how the murder of John Lennon at the end of 1980 showed how nothing good could come from fame. How EMI almost returned 1982’s The Dreaming to Bush because they were not happy. With the time it took to make and the fact there are no short Pop songs on it. That is because Bush consciously didn’t write any! It is important to note all of this history and context. It gives us the necessary texture, palette and depth that means we can truly appreciate why Hounds of Love is such as a remarkable achievement.
Leah Kardos discusses the sounds and instruments on Hounds of Love. How there are some similarities on the 1985 album and its predecessor. The importance of the Fairlight CMI is especially key and striking. I think it is important to note how Bush created songs. Her thinking. It is not only about the lyrics and themes. She has a very visual mind, yet there is this very music-driven one where she considers the resonance and impact of the sound. The contrast of lights and darks: “As Bush described to Keyboard, ‘the combination of very acoustic, real sounds and very hard, electronic sounds is fabulous. I like to create contrasts and extremes for the atmosphere that you’re building around a particular song.’ The deliberate fusion of contemporary and traditional instruments, a distinguishing feature of The Dreaming, is an approach that is further explored and refined on Hounds Of Love”. One of my favourite sections is when Leah Kardos talks about Kate Bush as a producer. How women producing, especially in the 1980s, were never given credit. How few women in music had access to high-tech equipment and studios. It was a breakthrough when an album produced by a woman was a big success and reached number one. Hounds of Love was a real landmark in some ways. How important that remains to this day. Bush’s tact and approach as a producer on Hounds of Love was different to how she did things before.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush during The Ninth Wave photoshoot/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
Whereas The Dreaming seemed more brutal and involved a multistep process, she was more economical and direct this time around. Songs built from the demos and seeming more organic and uncluttered. Learning more about the working process (“The tracking of Hounds Of Love in the studio was a slow, incremental process, not reliant on the collective synergies of group collaboration but rather on careful, individual selection”) is key when it comes to our understanding of Hounds of Love and how Kate Bush approached it. How the Fairlight CMI meant Bush had access to an array of sounds and could work out various parts before committing musicians to the songs. How the importance of this new technology changed the way she conducted the studio and approached songs and how musicians played. It is fascinating reading Leah Kardos’s observations and the well-selected and important quotes from Kate Bush. Kardos also notes how the Nagra recorder allowed Bush clean and crisp sonic access to natural sounds: “The second side of the album has a theme running through it and there were lots of sound effects we had to get . . . Trying to get a bit of sea is unbelievable. We got in sound effects albums but they’re awful – so noisy, or it’s the wrong kind of sea. I’d never really thought about the wrong and right kind of sea before, but as soon as you put it in context with the track you suddenly realise there’s all different kinds of sea.‒ Kate Bush, International Musician and Recording World, 1985”.
Alongside keen and warm observations such as how Bush’s family and the comfort of home was a big factor on Hounds of Love, we also get a real sense of the musical family she was raised in. How some of those early experiences made their way into Hounds of Love. Whether it is the Irish influence from her mother Hannah or her brothers’ musical and poetic passion. All of these seeds and strands can be heard flowing right through her 1985 masterpiece. There are some interesting facts I did not know. How Kate Bush had to get herself into an ‘altered state’ – code: a little drunk – in order to feel uninhibited enough to record the vocals for The Big Sky and Waking the Witch. How Bush produced pages of notes when it came to the final stages of the album. The mixing and mastering. Those who saw them were flabbergasted! It is testament to the detail and passion Bush expended. Kardos also notes an observation Graeme Thomson makes in his biography about Kate Bush: the fact is that Hounds of Love is a ‘purple’ album. Not only is its iconic cover (shot by her brother John Carder Bush, Bush lies with his two hounds, Bonnie and Clyde) purple. There is a purple energy (“According to the Maitreya School of Healing, co-founded by Bush’s friend, the late healer Lily Cornford (the addressee of the song named after her on Bush’s 1993 album The Red Shoes), this colour (‘wisteria amethyst’) promotes strength, dignity, spiritual growth and courage”).
There are many things to recommend about Leah Kardos’s contribution to the 33 1/3 series. You get such a rich and passionate love letter to Hounds of Love. Rather than merely focusing on the album and obvious elements, there is so much backstory and context. Incredible facts and some pertinent observations. It is a book for diehards and curious new fans alike. I will round up soon, though there are a few more chapters and sections in the book I want to highlight. I think I know Hounds of Love and Kate Bush quite well, but I learned that The Big Sky – the final single released from the album – was considered for inclusion in 2014’s Before the Dawn. It got as far as being rehearsed. We get some words and examination of the one song on Hounds of Love that has never been performed live or had a music video made for it: Mother Stands for Comfort. Maybe the odd child on Side A, it is fascinating. Kardos notes how Mother Stands for Comfort talks of “the comfort of family, the primal nature of love and the fierceness of Mother Nature. It explores the unconditional nature of maternal love, which, far from being simply warm and cuddly, is more often made sharply manifest in the messiest moments of life”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush accompanied by Del Palmer during the premiere for Hounds of Love at the London Planetarium on 9th September, 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
Perhaps my favourite chapter is the one for The Ninth Wave. The glorious masterpiece that is Hounds of Love’s second side, it has as yet never been committed to film or turned into a cinematic piece. It should be. My favourite song of the suite, Jig of Life, is a stirring moment that overflows with hot blood, energy and Irish joy: “Jig of Life’ doesn’t just draw from Greek folklore. Bush also taps the traditional music of her own maternal ancestors. The ‘B’ section at 1’40” shifts to an instrumental break built around Celtic folk melody. Beginning on John Sheahan’s fiddle with a deft melodic turn that flips between A major and A dorian, the music intensifies to a boisterous jig that’s thrillingly physical and full of blood”. After all of the songs have been examined and dissected, there is the aftermath and legacy. How Bush performed most of the songs from Hounds of Love for 2014’s Before the Dawn. We get an act-by-act rundown of her incredible set, together with the reviews and opinions from critics. There is a brilliant collation of words from artists who cite Hounds of Love as an influence. How far and wide that album has connected with people. Leah Kardos reveals how Hounds of Love has affected her: “Even though I am not a famous musician, the influence of Hounds Of Love has been profound in my creative life. The album gives you permission to work the way you know how – the way you know is best. To follow your muse uncompromisingly. To give creative labour only on your own terms. It is a reminder that having a safe space, and privacy, is crucial”.
I have given a bit of an overview and quick tour through Leah Kardos’s Hounds of Love book – even though I have typed quite a few words! So many features and books that explore Hounds of Love concentrate on the album and maybe go back as far as 1983/’84 (when Bush started to make plans and build foundations for Hounds of Love). Kardos draws us back to the 1970s. To her childhood and family influence. How that all led to Hounds of Love. How experiences on previous albums did too. How it also changed her as a producer and creative. That important history gives new context and layers to Hounds of Love. It makes us appreciate the album in new ways. Kardos also discusses the legacy and the ways in which Hounds of Love has touched so many people in different ways. Showing what a masterpiece the album is. What a genius Kate Bush is! Diehard and decades-long fans will learn new things and should add this to their bookshelves. For those new to Kate Bush who want to know about Hounds of Love will not be overwhelmed. It is a detailed book that is easy to read and has a very personal touch. Informative but with a tone that is less academic and more conversational. On 16th September, 2025, we mark forty years of Hounds of Love. Kate Bush has reissued the album, and the Special Editions of Hounds of Love are GRAMMY-nominated. Bush may win her first GRAMMY in thirty years. It is so timely to have this book in the world! Affordable, deep but small and compact enough so that you can carry it around and reference whenever you want, this is an essential guide from a brilliant author who clearly has a lot of love and respect for Kate Bush. I hope Bush reads the book as she would be very proud! Not only is Hounds of Love a masterpiece from one of the finest producers and songwriters ever. The album is also one of the…
GREATEST ever released.