Hounds of Love

Kate Bush1985

Ambitious, emotional and utterly unique, Hounds of Love is the album that transformed Kate Bush from an acclaimed artist into a global icon. A masterpiece of imagination, it redefined what a pop record could be.

The Tune Tempest Verdict

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Hounds of Love is a breathtaking, genre-defying masterpiece from an artist at the peak of her powers. A record of extraordinary vision, it remains one of the most important and innovative albums in modern music.

Read our full review → Explore the two sides ↓

Album Details

Released 16 September 1985

Artist Kate Bush

Producer Kate Bush

Label EMI

Length 47:33

UK Chart No. 1

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Album Overview

Released in September 1985, Hounds of Love saw Kate Bush expand her artistic vision on an unprecedented scale. Across two distinct halves — Side One's collection of meticulously crafted songs and Side Two's atmospheric suite The Ninth Wave — the album blends art pop, progressive rock, electronic experimentation and cinematic storytelling.

Lyrically, Hounds of Love explores themes of love, loss, nature and survival, while musically it showcases Bush's remarkable ability to combine accessibility with avant-garde ambition. The result is a record that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.

Tracklist

Side One

01 Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)

02 Hounds of Love

03 The Big Sky

04 Mother Stands for Comfort

05 Cloudbusting

Side Two — The Ninth Wave

06 And Dream of Sheep

07 Under Ice

08 Waking the Witch

09 Watching You Without Me

10 Jig of Life

11 Hello Earth

12 The Morning Fog

Two Sides of Hounds of Love

One album, two distinct worlds.

SIDE A

Side One

Hounds of Love

The first half of the album contains five standalone songs, each with its own world and emotional identity. Yet together they form a remarkably cohesive sequence.

From the desperate bargain at the heart of Running Up That Hill and the fear and exhilaration of the title track to the vastness of The Big Sky, the uneasy intimacy of Mother Stands for Comfort and the cinematic sweep of Cloudbusting, Side One captures Bush at her most immediate without sacrificing her instinct for experimentation.

5 songs Standalone works

SIDE B

Side Two

The Ninth Wave

Side Two abandons the conventional collection of individual songs and becomes a continuous seven-part suite: The Ninth Wave.

Its story follows a woman alone in the water at night, struggling to remain conscious as reality, dreams, memories and hallucinations begin to merge. Across the suite she confronts fear, isolation and visions of those she loves before finally reaching the warmth and renewal of The Morning Fog.

7 parts One continuous story