Aerial
by Kate Bush
  • Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Nov 8, 2005
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 325 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 291 out of 325
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 325
  3. Negative: 26 out of 325

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  1. RachelD
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    What a trip. This gets right inside, heals your heart and lifts your spirits. Gorgeous.
  2. MintyZ
    Nov 9, 2005
    10
    Most excellent. Makes every other purchase in the past two years seem frivolous by comparison. Oh, if only the other 99.9999% of artists had the vision to make a disc like this. . . .
  3. AdanR
    Jan 13, 2006
    10
    I don't know how this woman does it...with an album that focuses on domestic life and urges the listening to concentrate on the small things in life (birdsong, the changing light of the day, domestic chores, the smile of a child), she has ended up creating a mind blowing album. Amazing. Listen with an open mind and be swept away...
  4. TakisS
    Oct 19, 2009
    10
    A real experimental masterpiece! Only Kate can make songs like Aerial Prologue or Prelude in that Age. The album is the successor of Hounds of Love! A masterpiece!
  5. DaveC
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    One of the defining albums of the 21st century, in the same way Hounds of Love was a defining moment in late 20th century popular music.
  6. TimothyG
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    Very few albums surprise me, this one did... Having only started listening to Kate about 4 years ago, it was cool to see a new album emerge abd hearing her voice with more modern day production.. Also, the thought that went into everything is staggering... even the artwork with double CD case where laundry turns to birds..... I'm glad I own this one...
  7. JohnI
    Jan 20, 2006
    10
    While Kate Bush is a big star in the EU and Japan, here in the USA, she has only had a cult following. I am a happy member of this cult. Aerial is not an album that will yield hit singles, but Bush's complex, almost hypnotic songs grabbed my soul after a couple of listens. This is the work of a true, popular music genius!
  8. nolandw
    Sep 30, 2006
    8
    After a listen a sea of honey left me cold.A sky of honey made me hot and horny.I allway wanderd what it would be like to have sex with Kate Bush after to hearing A sky of honey I nkow.
  9. gregi
    Nov 10, 2005
    10
    By modern standards it should get 11. Really. Even though it's not perfect, even the failing points have so many redeeming qualities that it is way beyond the sum of it's parts. It gives many a contemporary musician a worthwhile goal: personal, experimental, daring, beautiful, emotional and against the grain. Not many can pull that off successfully in this world of By modern standards it should get 11. Really. Even though it's not perfect, even the failing points have so many redeeming qualities that it is way beyond the sum of it's parts. It gives many a contemporary musician a worthwhile goal: personal, experimental, daring, beautiful, emotional and against the grain. Not many can pull that off successfully in this world of same-o-same-o. And for the listner: countless of hours of listening, finding and enjoyment.… Expand
  10. JasperPo
    Nov 27, 2005
    10
    Just fantastic!
  11. WaltonS
    Nov 7, 2005
    10
    An album that has genuinely touched me, and I dare say may be one of the finest I've ever heard. From anyone.
  12. ArchwayJack
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    A tremendous return, especially after the slightly disappointing Red Shoes album.
  13. josk
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    astonishing! magical!
  14. Greg
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    Pure Magic. Well worth the wait we have had to endure. Perhaps not as great as hounds of love but defintley a masterpiece. Grammy will be singing areials toon.
  15. ChrisB
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    Back and better than ever!
  16. NeilB
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    Worth every year. Worth every damn second.
  17. JonathanM
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    Wow, I've been a Kate fan for several years now and after The Red Shoes being such an overcooked record I really wasn't expecting anything as beatiful and beguling as this. Nearly 30 years on she still manages to be one of the most essential artists around.
  18. LeonardoF
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    cd1 is great, cd2 is perfect and when it ends, it makes you want to listen to a cd3. aerial is the kind of album that gets better and better with each listen. hope we don't have to wait another 12 years for more.
  19. MichaelB.
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    This is what genius sounds like... A simply amazing and accessible work from an incredibly talented artist.
  20. enricob
    Nov 9, 2005
    10
    Absolutely superb...it gets better and better and better with each playfrom the Lemon Jelly-styled paean to numbers which is "Pi", moody rocker "How To Be Invisible", the tearjerking "A Coral Room" (worth the price alone) to the gorgeous "Sky of Honey" suite. This album will make you feel delirious and slightly high after listening to it!
  21. LloydC
    Nov 9, 2005
    10
    Kate's back and better than ever. Aerial is her most cohesive and fully realized album thus far.
  22. fredn
    Dec 1, 2005
    10
    Brilliant - anything that you like the first listen is crap. It took a few listens to discover how unashamedly brilliant this recording is!
  23. NocturneImmortum
    Dec 30, 2005
    9
    This 2-disc album, first with a Sea of Honey, then a Sky of Honey is a journey into the natural and mystical auditory realm. Though a long time admirer of Kate Bush's work, this creation took a bit getting used to: though the payoff is quite satisfying if one has no preconceived expectations. Just take the journey with her, and enjoy the ride. Maybe a little less birdsong, but all in This 2-disc album, first with a Sea of Honey, then a Sky of Honey is a journey into the natural and mystical auditory realm. Though a long time admirer of Kate Bush's work, this creation took a bit getting used to: though the payoff is quite satisfying if one has no preconceived expectations. Just take the journey with her, and enjoy the ride. Maybe a little less birdsong, but all in all an enjoyable listen. My favourite disc has to be Sky of Honey for its pure visualization and atmosphere. Welcome back Kate!… Expand
  24. GC
    Dec 8, 2005
    10
    An outstanding album by anyone's standards. Some of the most beautiful music she has ever recorded. One to treasure for many years to come.
  25. JBorea
    Jan 13, 2006
    9
    I can't get enough of the second disk! The first disk has great moments, but the real brilliance of Bush's ability remain spotlighted in tracks like "Sunset" and "Nocturn." Good to have her back!
  26. Paolo
    Jan 14, 2006
    10
    Masterpiece!
  27. IANB
    Jan 2, 2006
    10
    Beautiful. Thought provoking. Genius
  28. nicka
    Oct 3, 2006
    10
    Well after a 12 year gap the question everyone wants answered is has it been worth the wait? Most definitely yes, Kate makes the album shes always wanted to and her genius is let loose completely on this double album. The first cd titled A Sea Of Honey is typical Kate with perhaps the best ever song about numbers, as with any Kate album she does take alot of risks but even when she Well after a 12 year gap the question everyone wants answered is has it been worth the wait? Most definitely yes, Kate makes the album shes always wanted to and her genius is let loose completely on this double album. The first cd titled A Sea Of Honey is typical Kate with perhaps the best ever song about numbers, as with any Kate album she does take alot of risks but even when she occasionally becomes a bit too self indulgent or takes a risk too far musically shes still wonderfully eccentric. The second cd titled A Sky Of Honey is where she lets it all out and brings together things that you think how does she make that work? the sound of birdsong, and especially wood pigeons are all brought together beautifully to give an organic start to some of the songs, in a sense this grounds the listener. Although the second cd is quite conceptual in nature there are some wonderful songs and beautiful choruses, after the first listen you want to go back and listen again to check you didnt miss something, theres so much going on here and most of it is beautifully drawn together. This album takes to you to far away places in your mind, at times haunting, beautiful, eccentric, innovative,it takes chances, it pushes the listener and rewards them. Simply put this album is like a snow capped mountain rising above the clouds,it leaves the majority of todays so called music deep in the valley below! A wonderful return from Kate, its great to have you back but please dont make us wait another 12 years.… Expand
  29. DanielR
    Feb 20, 2006
    10
    Many fans expect to be challenged by Kate Bush, but this isn't that kind of album at all. It's simply beautiful, pulling on many of the best elements of her past music. I have listened to this perhaps a hundred time (honestly) -- especially the second disc, the "concept album" -- and don't tire of it. I bought it for my mom, and she loves it too. The appeal is broad and Many fans expect to be challenged by Kate Bush, but this isn't that kind of album at all. It's simply beautiful, pulling on many of the best elements of her past music. I have listened to this perhaps a hundred time (honestly) -- especially the second disc, the "concept album" -- and don't tire of it. I bought it for my mom, and she loves it too. The appeal is broad and universal, easily Kate's most accessible effort.… Expand
  30. Delysid
    Mar 1, 2006
    10
    Oh yes! It's so sweet to have a great musician in the rock/pop world come back with a stroke of genius like this, and it happens so seldom. Bowie pretty much redeemed himself after his long fallow period, McCartney is a sadly lost cause, ditto Elton John, the Rolling Stones, and too many others to mention. Then there are some who never hit the duldrums but keep putting out excellence Oh yes! It's so sweet to have a great musician in the rock/pop world come back with a stroke of genius like this, and it happens so seldom. Bowie pretty much redeemed himself after his long fallow period, McCartney is a sadly lost cause, ditto Elton John, the Rolling Stones, and too many others to mention. Then there are some who never hit the duldrums but keep putting out excellence through decades: David Byrne, Neil Young, Tom Waits. Kate doesn't quite make that grade for me -- "Sensual World" and "Red Shoes", while they have their moments, pale in comparison to the brilliance of all her preceding work. And now Aerial is right back up there in the same hallowed heights as the best of her pre-Sensual World material. Some reviewers say her sound hasn't changed, implying she hasn't kept up with the times. But Kate was never with the times -- despite her huge popularity, she carves a unique path and has inspired more than she has influenced, with the singular exception I'm aware of being early Tori Amos, which is great in its own way but still kind of Kate Lite. Aerial sounds exactly like Kate Bush and nothing else, and nothing else sounds like prime Kate Bush. Take all the time you need, Kate, before your next album, and I will await with all the patient devotion of the truly faithful, grateful for the granting of such divine grace whenever it comes.… Collapse
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Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Best Album of 2005
12
#12 Most Discussed Album of 2005
17
#17 Most Shared Album of 2005

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. AllMusic
    80
    There's no pushing of the envelope because there doesn't need to be. Aerial is rooted in Kate Bush's oeuvre, with grace, flair, elegance, and an obsessive, stubborn attention to detail.
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  2. Billboard
    80
    Despite her prolonged absence, Bush sounds as vital as ever.
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  3. musicOMH.com
    90
    Like all ambitious double albums, [Aerial] is not without its flaws, but even Bush's moments of failure are much more interesting than those of her contemporaries.
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