Despite the hype that heralded 2009 as the return of the kooky pop autrix, the most convincing Kate Bush album of the year turns out to be by a man.

Composed in the turmoil following Patrick Wolf’s flight from Universal who tried to sell him as a more conventional pop idol, The Bachelor is militantly melodramatic and defiantly independent, detailing some English civil war of the soul in the style of Marc Almond fronting the Arcade Fire.

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It’s a ravishing production, and with a companion disc promised next year, feels like a fresh start for a brilliant career.

STEPHEN TROUSSÉ

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