Hounds of Love

An album so good that “Running Up That Hill” isn’t even my favorite track!

With Stranger Things, a whole new generation was introduced to the magic that is Kate Bush: her timeless-yet-so-80s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” topped the charts nearly 40 years after its release. Her other work is just as amazing — and what better place to start than the 1985 album that opens with her biggest hit? The first half of Hounds of Love has incredible 80s synthpop including the opener, the title track, and “The Big Sky.” It also includes the powerfully bittersweet “Cloudbusting” — a song written from the perspective of Peter Reich, son of the imprisoned controversial psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich. The second side of the album is “The Ninth Wave,” a suite about a woman lost at sea fighting for survival. In A Christmas Carol fashion, she receives visions from loved ones of her past, present, and future. It all culminates in the haunting, tear-jerking epic “Hello Earth.” As usual with Bush, Hounds of Love pushed the boundaries of electronic music while also including folk and orchestral/choral elements. Musical storytelling at its finest!