Kate Bush cut a peculiar figure in the early 1980s, somewhere between post-punk and Pebble Mill At One, between pop and Prog. Despite her performative nature, she was reclusive, reluctant to perform except on her own terms. When Wuthering Heights was a hit in 1978, her vocals pitched way over the top, it would have been forgivable to predict one hit wonder status for her. However, she managed to make her histrionic style work, in the way that Toyah, say, could not.
By 1985, she was at the height of her powers, and Hounds Of Love, recorded using all of the state of the art apparatus of the mid-80s – LinnDrum, Fairlight, synth strings as well as more traditional Irish instruments – is highly contemporary but also exudes a misty, mystical sense of the land.
