Kate Bush Aerial
Kate Bush's Aerial stages a quietly majestic comeback that folds domestic detail, mourning and everyday epiphanies into ambitious soundscapes. Across 20 professional reviews the record earned an 82.7/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to disc two's suite and intimate vignettes as the collection's most
The best song, “Mrs. Bartolozzi (2018 Remaster)”, is praised for turning domestic detail into moving, erotic wonder.
Shared criticism is still limited across the current review sample.
Best for listeners looking for domestic contentment and motherhood, starting with Mrs. Bartolozzi (2018 Remaster) and A Coral Room (2018 Remaster).
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Full consensus notes
Kate Bush's Aerial stages a quietly majestic comeback that folds domestic detail, mourning and everyday epiphanies into ambitious soundscapes. Across 20 professional reviews the record earned an 82.7/100 consensus score, and critics consistently point to disc two's suite and intimate vignettes as the collection's most affecting moments.
Reviewers praise the best songs on Aerial for patience and craftsmanship: “Mrs. Bartolozzi (2018 Remaster)” recurs as a highlight for its tender, erotic domestic poetry, “Aerial (2018 Remaster)” serves as the second disc's euphoric apex with field recordings and birdsong, and “Prologue (2018 Remaster)” and “Pi (2018 Remaster)” are singled out for their hypnotic mystery and mathematical whimsy. Critics note a throughline of motherhood, domestic contentment and pastoral imagery that gives the album a timeless, often nocturnal arc from evening to dawn.
While many reviewers celebrate the return-from-hiatus ambition and understated arrangements, some temper that praise by observing the record's slow-burn nature - moments of pure triumph sit alongside passages that require patience. The critical consensus suggests Aerial is worth close listening rather than instant devotion: an artful, occasionally divisive follow-up that reaffirms Bush's voice and cements the album as a significant chapter in her catalogue.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Mrs. Bartolozzi (2018 Remaster)
6 mentions
"But disc one's strangest and most lovely moment is in "Mrs. Bartolozzi," scored for piano and voice."— AllMusic
A Coral Room (2018 Remaster)
2 mentions
"Then, almost inevitably, Kate goes and finishes this first disc with the best song on the album - in fact, one of her best songs ever."— Sputnik Music
Prologue (2018 Remaster)
3 mentions
But disc one's strangest and most lovely moment is in "Mrs. Bartolozzi," scored for piano and voice.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
King of the Mountain (2018 Remaster)
Pi (2018 Remaster)
Bertie (2018 Remaster)
Mrs. Bartolozzi (2018 Remaster)
How To Be Invisible (2018 Remaster)
Joanni (2018 Remaster)
A Coral Room (2018 Remaster)
Prelude (2018 Remaster)
Prologue (2018 Remaster)
An Architect's Dream (2018 Remaster)
The Painter's Link (2018 Remaster)
Sunset (2018 Remaster)
Aerial Tal (2018 Remaster)
Somewhere In Between (2018 Remaster)
Nocturn (2018 Remaster)
Aerial (2018 Remaster)
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 20 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In his genial, slightly wry way Alexis Petridis argues that Kate Bush's Aerial finds grandeur in small moments, and the best songs on Aerial - notably “Mrs. Bartolozzi (2018 Remaster)” and “Aerial (2018 Remaster)” - do most of that heavy lifting. He revels in Bush turning domestic detail into the extraordinary, praising the "lovely and moving piano ballad" of “Mrs. Bartolozzi (2018 Remaster)” while admiring the second CD's slow, beautiful sequence anchored by “Aerial (2018 Remaster)”. The result, he writes in his characteristically conversational and slightly amused tone, is an album that is sometimes dated but frequently sublime, the kind of return that feels like an event rather than a comeback.
Key Points
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The best song, “Mrs. Bartolozzi (2018 Remaster)”, is praised for turning domestic detail into moving, erotic wonder.
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Aerial's core strength is making commonplace events feel extraordinary through pastoral arrangements and intimate vignettes.
Themes
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En
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Critic's Take
The critic frames the second disc, A Sky Of Honey, as the album's emotional and musical apex, calling it musically amazing and conceptually powerful.
Key Points
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The album's core strength is the ambitious, musically varied conceptual second disc, A Sky Of Honey, which the reviewer calls musically amazing and conceptually powerful.
Themes
Critic's Take
In a graceful return Kate Bush fashions Aerial into an intimate, timeless triumph, and the best tracks on Aerial are unmistakable. The second disc's opener “Prologue” and the propulsive title track “Aerial” are the album's emotional peaks, the former a gentle dawn and the latter a euphoric, maniacal burst of birdsong and laughter. The result is a patient, organic work that often feels dateless, rewarding anyone who comes looking for the best songs on Aerial with vivid, singular moments.
Key Points
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The best song is the title track's closing euphoria and the second-disc opener “Prologue” because they frame the album's emotional arc with birdsong and ecstatic moments.
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Aerial's core strengths are its organic patience, domestic intimacy, and timeless eccentricities that make even saccharine moments feel genuine.
Themes
Critic's Take
Bartolozzi” revives obsessive eroticism through ordinary acts. The result is an album rooted in Bush's oeuvre, graceful and obsessive, with these standout songs best embodying its domestic magic and romantic sweep.
Key Points
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The title track is the album's most surprising and intense moment, delivering dawn's fury and vocal fireworks.
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Aerial's core strengths are its detailed domestic vignettes, lush romanticism, and obsessive attention to sonic and lyrical detail.
Themes
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Critic's Take
The reviewer’s tone is admiring and exacting, noting that CD1 is "virtually flawless, inventive contemporary pop" while CD2 is a more ambitious soundscape suite. Praise sits alongside measured critique - "It doesn't work all the time, but when it does it's a triumph of warmth, depth and clarity" - which explains why those standout songs matter. This reads as both affirmation that the best songs on Aerial repay the wait and a reminder that Bush’s regained voice is most potent in her daring sequences.
Key Points
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The best song is praised for exemplifying CD1's inventive, mystifying pop and showing Bush still entices listeners.
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The album’s core strengths are ambitious soundscapes, lyrical maternal memoir, and inventive contemporary pop.
Themes
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Critic's Take
Kate Bush returns with Aerial, and the review clearly points to best songs like “Mrs. Bartolozzi” and “Pi” as highlights, praised for their evocative imagery and daring conceits. The reviewer lingers on “Mrs. Bartolozzi” for its blend of erotic and poignant domestic detail, and on “Pi” for transforming a recitation of numbers into something nearly sensual. Overall the critic frames the best tracks as patient, nuanced compositions that reward full listens rather than instant hits.
Key Points
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The best song, "Mrs. Bartolozzi", stands out for its erotic and poignant domestic imagery and is called one of the album's strongest tracks.
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The album's core strength is patient, nuanced songwriting that favors cohesion, atmosphere, and detailed arrangements over instant pop hits.
Themes
Pr
Critic's Take
Kate Bush returns with Aerial, a record where the best tracks are quieter revelations rather than fireworks - the hypnotic recitation in “Pi (2018 Remaster)” and the domestic poetry of “Mrs. Bartolozzi (2018 Remaster)” stand out. Dominique Leone writes in a patient, slightly rueful register, appreciating the album's low-key backdrops and lush vocal palette while admitting they seldom leap out. The second disc's gentle arc gives moments of effortless euphoria, though Leone still wishes for a bit more spark. In short, the best songs on Aerial reward close listening rather than instant devotion.
Key Points
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The best song is "Pi (2018 Remaster)" for its expressive recitation and vocal invention.
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The album's core strengths are intimate songwriting, lush vocal textures, and understated arrangements that reward close listening.
Themes
