Razorblade Suitcase
Greedy Fly is the point where Razorblade Suitcase becomes more interesting than its reputation. The guitar parts have an uneasy movement, Gavin Rossdale's vocal sounds caught inside them, and the chorus offers a hook without clearing away the discomfort. Bush's second album can make a rougher sound work in its favour.
Personal Holloway is a strong opening for similar reasons. The bass gives the song a physical centre, while the guitars leave enough rough edges to keep it restless. Steve Albini's recording gives the instruments a more exposed sound than on Sixteen Stone. That is useful when the band has a definite idea to pursue, rather less useful when a song needs the production to supply one.
Swallowed finds the best balance. Its melody is accessible, but the band never makes it feel fully comfortable. Rossdale's delivery gives the chorus a strained persistence, and the quiet passages allow the heavier parts to arrive with purpose. Cold Contagious has another memorable vocal shape, while A Tendency To Start Fires supplies a sharper burst of energy.
The difficulties become clearer as the record moves on. A number of songs settle into slow, repeated guitar figures that do not develop enough to justify the attention they ask for. Rossdale remains an emphatic singer, but emphasis cannot always give his less definite lyrics a centre. The album sometimes mistakes maintaining a mood for deepening it.
Straight, No Chaser offers a useful quieter contrast. It gives the voice room and shows that the band can preserve scale without keeping every instrument at full force. History brings back a harsher edge, though the later sequence still has fewer clear destinations than the opening run.
Razorblade Suitcase is a worthwhile, uneven record with several songs that benefit from its abrasive approach. Its best writing makes vulnerability and noise feel connected. Elsewhere, the raw sound exposes how little the arrangement is actually doing. The album's ambition is understandable; the strongest tracks are where that ambition becomes a song.
