50 Words for Snow by Kate Bush

It’s absorbing and enchanting without having to resort to formulaic song structures, pop thrills or radio-friendly catchiness.

And jolly spectacular it is too, which is never a guarantee

While looking for 50 Words For Snow, she has found 50 other original ways to express herself effortlessly, creating another intriguing piece of work.

These tracks are sparse but airtight, haunting but unrelentingly gorgeous

Her best music, this album included, has the effect of putting one in the kind of treasured, child-like space-- not so much innocent as open to imagination-- that never gets old.

If every song here had been of the same standard as the opening suite of three, and the final two, 50 Words For Snow would have been an all-time classic

While the album is as icy as its title implies, there’s a dormant warmth to 50 Words that compensates for its lack of hooks.