In a 1985 interview with the British television channel Music Box, Bush talked a bit about her relationship to press, stating that her intention was to promote her work, not herself. Through her responses, it’s clear that Bush was set on following her own musical path, not one that was expected of her. Moreover, three years passed between The Dreaming and Hounds of Love, which was considered to be a significant absence for a popular singer (listening to old interviews, it seems quite possible that this marks the beginning of the “Kate Bush as reclusive artist” trope that persists to this day). It’s also the album that marks her debut as a producer, a pivotal moment leading to the creation of Hounds of Love. In fact, as years passed, The Dreaming would go on to become a greatly admired by both fans and critics. However, when this was mentioned by interviewers, Bush would point out that this was simply a matter of charting singles, and not a measure of the artistic success of the album. Bush’s previous album, The Dreaming, was perceived to be less successful than her earlier efforts. In the press surrounding the release, Hounds of Love was viewed as a comeback of sorts. Moreover, for a recording artist who wanted to spend time experimenting with sounds, it was more cost effective than paying for studio time. It was a crucial move, she would explain, because the home studio away from city life allowed her to work with fewer distractions. In multiple interviews, Bush spoke about her decision to leave London and and to build a home studio.
It was an ambitious album, one that came out of a major work-life change. It was an album that was simultaneously accessible and experimental, home to the beloved singles “Running Up That Hill,” “Cloudbusting,” “Hounds of Love” and “The Big Sky.” It also includes The Ninth Wave, a seven-song suite, essentially an album-within-an-album, that brings together traditional instruments with inventive use of synths and samples to tell the story of someone alone at sea overnight. Hounds of Love, released on September 16, 1985, was Bush’s fifth album, the second that she produced on her own and the first that she recorded in her own studio. Throughout the album, she builds narratives around complicated emotions, intertwining childhood fears and romantic apprehension in the title track, maternal love and a violent crime on “Mother Stands for Comfort.” She turns an obscure book into a single on “Cloudbusting” and wrote an entire album side following one story arc with The Ninth Wave. Thirty-five years ago, Kate Bush dropped listeners into the drama with “Running Up That Hill,” still one of her most memorable songs, and kept them hooked for the duration of Hounds of Love.