aaamusic | On 23, Jun 2010

Bush, Britain’s least-known 1990s hit-makers, have reunited. The English band, obscure at home but enormously popular in America, have announced a comeback tour and a new album, their first in nine years.

Led by Gavin Rossdale, the London group released four albums between 1994 and 2001. While they just grazed the UK charts – 1996’s Razorblade Suitcase was the only album to reach the top 25 – Bush sold millions of albums in the US, thanks to singles such as Glycerine and Swallowed. Even in Canada, where Bush were forced to use the name Bush X, their first two albums went five- and six-times platinum.

This wasn’t the case in the UK, where Rossdale is best known as, er, Gwen Stefani’s husband. Since Bush split in 2002, Rossdale released one album with the Institute and one solo record, which was scarcely promoted outside of North America. Bush’s new album, Everything Always Now, is due in October, Rossdale told LA’s KROQ radio. It’s not clear whether a UK release will follow.

The group’s first new single, Afterlife, is streaming at KROQ’s website, and it sounds, er, like Bush. The slouching grunge rockers seem relatively unchanged, if a little desperate. We won’t hold our breaths for their appearance at the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.