The Science of Things

1	Warm Machine 4:25
2	Jesus Online 3:44
3	The Chemicals Between Us 3:37
4	English Fire 3:31
5	Spacetravel 4:45
6	40 Miles from the Sun 3:39
7	Prizefighter 5:41
8	The Diesease of the Dancing Cats 4:01
9	Altered States 4:11
10	Dead Meat 4:16
11	Letting the Cables Sleep 4:36
12	Mindcharger 4:48

Barnes & Noble

"I memorize the basics" goes the first line from Bush's third studio album, which pretty much sums up the band's aesthetic. Bush's multi-platinum success stems from their understanding of what's worked throughout rock history -- melodic power pop, grunge, noise-punk -- and applying it with liberal doses of showmanship and Gavin Rossdale's overpowering, post-Cobain sex appeal. On THE SCIENCE OF THINGS, Bush continue to craft a simple, catchy set of rockers and ballads, and they've thrown some alluring new stylistic moves into the mix for good measure. "The Chemicals Between Us" features electronic percussion and gurgling keyboards, "Altered States" is driven by a deep dub bass line and fluttering electronics, and "English Fire" contrasts surging, humming guitars with shimmering strings. No, it won't revolutionize modern rock, but this is Bush's best, most experimental album to date -- and one that's a far sight more engaging than a simple recitation of the basics. Jon Wiederhorn

All Music Guide

For their third album, The Science of Things, Bush returned to Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, the Madness producers who helmed Sixteen Stone, but along the way, they fell out with the duo. Rossdale claimed the two were only credited on the album for legal reasons, and that the real work was done by the band with engineer Tom Elmhirst, which is probably true, since it's slicker than Razorblade Suitcase but doesn't glisten like Stone. Science is carefully crafted and sequenced, flowing nicely from hard rockers to power ballads, and it plays better than the disjointed Razorblade Suitcase due to studiocraft, since the measured, detailed production fleshes out songs held together by a bare minimum of hooks and melodies. Without hooks, Rossdale's emotive, gut-wrenching vocals and the band's hard, heavy delivery are all this record has to offer. Still, Bush's earnestness is unavoidable, and they're undoubtedly sincere and have delivered a professional record. Stephen Thomas Erlewine