Years from now, Stranger Things may be remembered more for launching the revival of Kate Bush than any actual content from the show. Two years after the series’ use of “Running Up That Hill” made the 1985 song inescapable for an entire summer, the artist may be back with new music. If Max manages to survive whatever’s coming her way in season five, she’s going to be thrilled.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today (via Variety), Bush said she was “very keen to start working on a new album.” It would be the artist’s first studio album since 50 Words for Snow, which she released in 2011. Fans should be patient, though; she’s not actually working on new material yet. “I’ve been caught up doing a lot of archive work over the last few years, redesigning our website, putting a lyric book together,” she said when asked about her progress. But, she continued, “I’m very keen to start working on a new album when I’ve got this finished. I’ve got lots of ideas and I’m really looking forward to getting back into that creative space. It’s been a long time.”
We might not have to wait too much longer. She also told the program that “particularly [in] the last year, I’ve felt really ready to start doing something new.” This writer would never presume to understand the mind of someone as elusive and enigmatic as Bush, but the fact that “Running Up That Hill” went no. 1 on the UK charts in 2022 probably didn’t hurt. “It’s all really exciting!” she wrote in a rare statement at the time. “Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song.”
As for touring, which she hasn’t done since 2014, she’s “not there yet.” In the meantime, she’s been busy producing “Little Shrew,” a lovely and somber short animated film set to her 2011 song “Snowflake,” which she wrote and directed to benefit children living in war-torn countries. Proceeds benefit War Child, a nonprofit with the goal of “ensuring a safe future for every child living through war.” You can watch the short film below: