1996 was an interesting time for British rock band Bush.

On one hand, their debut LP Sixteen Stone had conquered rock radio and elevated the boys from London to a global level of stardom, but they were being absolutely pummelled by the music press, who had labelled them as “manufactured Nirvana clones”.

This creative conundrum caused Bush to make a strange choice ahead of their second LP, where they would attempt to win over their haters instead of chasing further commercial success.

The end result is Razorblade Suitcase, a raw-as-fuck collection of songs which offers a mixed bag of results, showing us that the band are certainly accomplished musicians, but doing so at the expense of the catchy hit singles which made it’s predessor so appealing in the first place – and it still didn’t silence their critics!

Bush’s first step to prove themselves was to hire indie super-producer Steve Albini.

Famed for his minimalistic production style, Albini added a certain level of “street cred” to the project which even the staunchest of Bush’s critics couldn’t deny, but unfortunately this moved backfired as Albini had helmed In Utero (the third and final album by Nirvana) just two years earlier, and the similar sound only drew further comparisons and nastier accusations to Gavin Rossdale and co.

Albini thought this treatment was unfair:

“We became friends through working on this project, so it pains me to see negative press on Bush.

I can tell you from first-hand experience that these lads are great, and they’re not “faking” anything. Let’s not forget that they’ve toured our shores relentlessly since moving to the US, honing their skills and putting in far harder hours than many of the bands who are afforded a greater level of respect in the press.

Bush create their music because they love it, and they believe in it, and have worked their tail-ends off to become successful. You can’t really ask for any more than that as an artist.”

– Steve Albini

Albini’s raw production is a double-edged sword for Bush.

The plus-side is that it certainly enables them to be heavier this time around, and the fact that they still rock so hard despite removing several layers of studio engineering shows us that the success of their debut was no fluke.

There are moments scattered throughout Razorblade Suitcase where their partnership with Albini works incredibly well, such as the chilling groove of Cold Contagious, and the stripped back musical arrangement of eventual hit single Swallowed, which does a great job of framing the gravel-voiced Rossdale as he explains that fame isn’t everything he thought it would be, opening the door on the mental health struggles he experienced after the unexpected success of their debut LP.

“I’m with everyone,
And yet… not.”

Swallowed

However, there’s also several occasions where Albini and Bush seem to clash.

For instance, there’s little doubt that Bonedriven and Straight No Chaser could’ve beneffited from the same kind of studio heft displayed on Sixteen Stone, but Albini’s minimalistic production style prevents either track from hitting their stride, and we never see them shine as brightly as they perhaps could have.

Bush also frustrate the listener on multiple occassions by combining a terrible verse with a great chorus (Mouth), or a terrible chorus with a great verse (A Tendency To Start Fires), or wasting their frontman’s clever wordplay on songs which are otherwise directionless and void of emotion. (Distant Voices).

Oh, and it’s a travesty that the devastatingly effective final third of Insect Kin gets lost in the shuffle.

“Sooner or later,
Masterbate or lose.”

Distant Voices

“Razorblade Suitcase is a special album for me because it captures a moment in my life where I was trying to write new material while everything was falling apart.

My long-term girlfriend had decided we should end our relationship after everything went nuts following the release of our first record, and she was in the front room of our home packing her bags to leave as I was in the bedroom writing many of these tracks.

I was feeling pretty hopeless and lost with this weird new world, and I think you can hear all of that anger and frustration in the album, so it reminds me of where I’ve been.”

– Gavin Rossdale

The frontman’s quest for credibility often pulls him in directions he doesn’t need to go.

At times it’s fascinating to hear him deny his gift, as he shuns his natural born ability for penning radio-friendly choruses in favour of double-layered edgy guitar feedback and downtuned violin samples which don’t really need to exist.

The culminative effect is a collection of songs which fight with themselves from beginning-to-end, and this perhaps does a perfect job of highlighting the battle which was going on inside Rossdale’s head at the time of recording.

The album still became a commercial success for the band, hitting #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart after selling 293,000 copies in the first week of release (eventually going on to sell 3.6 million!), and Swallowed handed them their first and only #1 hit single.

Razorblade Suitcase is widely considered the last major grunge record of the 1990s, as the popularity of the genre began to nosedive in the second half of the decade, and by the time Bush returned with the much improved The Science Of Things in 1998 they took on a more mainstream rock sound and added several layers of electronic overdubs.

In summary:

Bush’s second album both excels and struggles under Steve Albini’s minimalistic production style, resulting in an LP best remembered for a series of standout moments rather than a series of great songs.

Razorblade Suitcase receives 6/11.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★