The Sensual World

I still haven’t fully figured out Kate Bush. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 is clearly thoughtful and carefully put together, but it never completely draws me in. The vocals, the arrangements, the whole atmosphere — it all feels very specific to her world, which I can appreciate more than I actually connect with. There are definitely moments that stand out, but as a whole it still keeps me at a bit of a distance.

I mean, it's Kate Bush, it automatically gets 5 stars. Well that's not quite true. This album is just a collection of fantastic songs, like a songbook, but isn't as thematically consistent as some of her masterpieces. Regardless, her songs are so good that they blow most other albums here out of the water. Forever and always my queen.

yes never heard the sensual world but she said yes watch the music videos this was nothing special but her voice is lovely mmmmmmmyes many a time the game molly and I play came with me interruptions galore but there was that beautiful sunset we laughed at a picture of hitler we saw the game won eleven to three will I ever go back is there anything the matter with my insides or have I something growing in me coughing and sneezing til the passage dries her voice kept me coming back yes I spun the record over again and over again rockets tail is its namesake there is a movie song never seen many movies and yet it's good yes someone knows someone knows Kevin Bacon they imitate her but no Bjork no Joanna Newsom can only be Kate Bush she asked me with her eyes to rate 5/5 I said yes I put my headphones on and drew her to me and her voice was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.

I love “this woman’s work.” And there are other songs on this album too.

What does it say about an artist’s legacy if a work like The Sensual World isn’t even their best? Do we take Kate Bush‘s genius for granted?

But let’s start from the beginning — aka the burden of following up a masterpiece. Kate Bush had to bear it twice. The first time came after her earth-shattering debut, when she redefined what avant-garde pop songwriting could achieve: masterful pop sensibility paired with a radical commitment to uniqueness. A formula that she would later refine with her towering work, Hounds of Love - rightly considered an album for eternity, with its two distinct halves evenly split between a loose collection of songs and a cycle of thematically linked sound artifacts.

So that was the second time she had to live up to a blistering predecessor. The first time, it did not quite work out: not only in my view was Lionheart a somewhat lukewarm follow-up to The Kick Inside. But how does The Sensual World hold up to Hounds of Love? Did it work out the second time?

Well, The Sensual World is a worthy successor to her (arguably) career highlight. In some respects, it might even mark a first for Kate Bush. For once, it feels like she truly continued along the path laid out by her previous work, instead of radically changing pace and direction. She taps into similar sonics and doubles down on the pop factor that was already embedded in the fabric of Hounds of Love.

And precisely because of that, The Sensual World is a good record - a great one, even. Not her best, but that doesn’t say much when you have The Kick Inside and Hounds of Love under your belt. The final moments of Love and Anger are also telling: did you notice her laughter? Kate Bush seems free - almost unburdened. This airy sense of weightlessness that flows through the album (much like it already did in Oh to Be in Love et al) is what truly propels The Sensual World to higher spheres.

Also, with Aerial, she managed to achieve this by no means small feat once more - coming close to the brilliance of both The Kick Inside and Hounds of Love.

Wow. What an artist. What a genius. Let’s not take her or her work for granted.

Her voice is a little annoying for me i’m sorry.

The Sensual World reaches for the same places as Hounds of Love, but it just doesn’t quite get a full grasp.

I'm sorry Kate, I really like a lot of Hounds of Love, but I found this album to be generally uninteresting with a really flat mix that did not emphasize any particular instrument/vocal. The resulting music just sounded compressed and very stagnant. Some good moments and I love her voice, but overall not impressed. 2.4/5 -> 2/5

It was perfectly fine .. but not the best Bush.

Not as good as the other Kate Bush albums on this list. This one drags a bit, but her usual creativity is there.

3.0/5.0: Good

this album felt so much longer than it actually was. she has a great voice but only about half of the songs hit the mark. the other half are fine but not something i would really want to hear again

Yeah it's fuckin' great. Was never totally won over by "This Woman's Work" as I was hearing it in this context. Favorite part of the album is the moment when "Rocket's Tail" opens up.

Favorite track(s): The Sensual World, The Fog, Heads We're Dancing, Rocket's Tail

incredible

NOTE: Listening and rating to this on Apr 21 2026. Now for review.

Does not seem to contain tracks nearly as memorable as in Hounds of Love. However it's not bad at all, I liked This Woman's Work and possibly "Never be mine". Dead in the center with 3 stars.

Surprisingly enjoyable. It's a pop album, but there is clearly a lot more going on here than just a few pop hits. I really love all the small touches throughout, the background choir, the bass blurts, the weird animal noises she makes at the end. Really pleasant surprise of an album.

Doesn't appeal much to me - her voice is pretty but the songs feel a bit disconnected

I love Kate Bush man

Yeah, kate bush is pretty rad.

Pretty nice listen.