Golden State (album)

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Golden State is the fourth and final studio album by British post-grunge band Bush, released in 2001. Stylistically, it was seen as a return to the post-grunge that Bush became famous for in contrast to their more recent experimental work. The liner notes of Golden State cite the album in memory of Ian Lowery, founder of The Folk Devils.

Production

In discussing the album's direction, frontman Gavin Rossdale commented, "[The style] is quite rough. It's kind of coming back full circle ... After almost a decade of being a band, I think we passed the stage of having to prove anything." He also described it as "very naked" and cheese "definitely a real rock record." Rossdale added "The album is very empowering and uplifting, though I'm not really sure what its contemporaries are. That's the weird thing about it. It's like the record exists in its own space."

When asked by Rolling Stone reporter Christina Saraceno what the band was trying to achieve with Golden State, Rossdale replied:

"I think to be honest, a lot of it was thinking about what kind of stuff I wanted to do live. To write new songs, you've got to start knocking some songs off the set list, and so I just kind of thought about songs like that, really. So everything has to be quite strident and forceful because we were playing in a rehearsal room and it was horrible [laughs], so it had to be strong."

Rossdale also mentioned in an NY Rock interview that people would often have the clichéd idea that he is a dark, depressed person. To counteract this, he used the name Golden State because it sounded "warm and positive." Regarding the songs' positive theme, Rossdale noted "I'm far more relaxed and I guess that influenced the album quite a bit." The stripped down musical style was a result of the band practicing all the songs five weeks before recording. This voided the use of industrial elements as heard on The Science of Things. And as a final test, Rossdale played the songs through a "shitty" car stereo to make sure they recorded well.

Promotion

The album's original cover featured an outline of a passenger airliner. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the band changed the artwork to something more minimal. The album's lead single, "The People That We Love," was originally titled "Speed Kills" (which appeared on advance promo copies and early radio promos advertising the song), but it was renamed for the same reason, after being listed as an inappropriate song by Clear Channel Communications. Regarding the name change, the band posted this message on their website:

Since the song is one of love, appreciation and rising against adversity, we hope that this change will reflect our desire to be part of the soothing that art brings at these times.

Upon release, "The People That We Love" saw significant radio play as well as heavy rotation of its music video on MTV2. However, compared to earlier Bush hits, it has since been virtually forgotten on radio. A follow up single was not released in the US, making this Bush's final American single. In the UK, "Inflatable" was released as a single with an accompanying video.

Golden State was released by Atlantic Records, which originally distributed Sixteen Stone. Bush co-hosted the October 22, 2001 edition of Channel One News to promote the album and give away an autographed copy, an act which critics of the educational program derided. However, Atlantic failed to thoroughly promote the album. Golden State was Bush's last studio album, and since its release the band has remained on indefinite hiatus.

Reception

The fact that Golden State is a return to Bush's earlier style has brought both criticism and praise. Kerrang! hailed it as "Bush's best album yet." However, Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone commented "Today, the group could be criticized for imitating itself... Gavin Rossdale's delicious rasp is still unequivocally sexy, but his melodies are rote versions of the same old song." She added "Nothing here hits the inevitable, almost scientific heights the band reached with anthems like 'Everything Zen' or 'Glycerine.' As it is, Golden State has only a few bright spots."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave a slightly more positive review, considering Bush "comfortable and powerful, rocking hard, turning out songs that are not only catchy, but that hold together and cohere over the course of an album." Regarding the album's reverted style, he said "It doesn't sound hip or current in 2001 by any means -- it sounds charmingly retro, as a matter of fact, sorta stuck in 1994 -- but it's better than most records in its vein."

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Solutions"	4:27
2.	"Headful of Ghosts"	4:21
3.	"The People That We Love"	4:01
4.	"Superman"	4:00
5.	"Fugitive"	4:02
6.	"Hurricane"	3:15
7.	"Inflatable"	4:18
8.	"Reasons"	3:41
9.	"Land of the Living"	4:15
10.	"My Engine is with You"	2:35
11.	"Out of This World"	4:04
12.	"Float"	4:15
Total length:		47:21

B-sides/Unreleased

1. "Japanese Freight Train" - B-side (released on official website, bonus track on Australian release)
2. "American Eyes" - B-side (The People That We Love Single)
3. "Fireball" - Unreleased

Song appearances in other media

"The People That We Love" was included on the Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 soundtrack and was originally to be included in Need For Speed: Carbon. "Solutions" was used in the soundtrack for Swimfan" and was played in the background during the party scene. "Inflatable" was used in the first season Smallville episode "Leech." "Out of This World" was featured in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Dead Things."

Chart positions

Album

Chart	Peak position	Year
Billboard 200	22	2001

Singles

Single	Chart	Peak position	Year
"The People That We Love"	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	10	2001

External links

• Bush Fansite