“A Sky of Honey” supposedly progresses from late afternoon through sunrise, but it’s not clear what it’s about exactly, beyond an amorphous oneness with nature. There’s a prelude and a prologue, but no epilogue; a brief voice-over from a painter about getting “that tone a little bit lighter there, maybe with some dark accents coming in from the side”; and a closing half evoking the sun’s streaking light.

Bush sounds incredibly contented, secure at the center of her world. You imagine her roaming around her country estate, occasionally dropping into the home studio to daub a dark accent onto track seventeen. It’s doubtless a nice place to reach in midlife, and if one were strolling the hills with her, one might, as “Nocturne” urges, “become panoramic.” But Aerial soundtracks bliss, rather than communicating it—what’s needed is a little more of Madonna’s restless spirit.

Confessions on a Dance Floor
Madonna.
Warner Bros.

Aerial
Kate Bush.
Sony.

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