Inflatable

The latest single from Bush's Golden State disc finds the band in its mellowest mind-set yet. This ballad, heavy with a luscious string arrangement, explores the more sensitive side of Gavin Rossdale and company. Bush has successfully explored the downtempo realm in the past, on such cuts as "Letting the Cables Sleep" and "Glycerine," yet "Inflatable" presents them in sheer sweetness. Rossdale's delivery of the chorus transforms the lyrical motif in the chorus ("You're so pretty in white/Pretty when you're faithful") into a decidedly delicate soundscape, swelling with the strings and the texture of some acoustic guitar strumming. Aside from the lyric, the drama abounds with a false ending, as with the distorted string-bass introduction. "Inflatable" certainly has promise for the ballad spot on modern rock playlists this spring, but beyond that, this cut could be the one to take Bush back to mainstream radio.—EA