Image courtesy of Katebush.com

The sound of winter wind ushers in “Wild Man,” the first new song we’ve heard from Kate Bush in six years. Following up the relatively (for this woman) straightforward sonics of Aerial, Bush sounds like she’s gotten blessedly weird yet again. She lays down the story of a love song that would serve perfectly as an ode to Man vs. Wild‘s Bear Grylls, cooing through gently aged vocal chords, “We found your footprints in the snow … They call you an animal … You’re not an animal.”

Wavy distortions and a synth harpsichord make up the bulk of the song, along with a guest vocal from former teen idol/Amen Corner guitarist Andy Fairweather Low. Fans of Bush’s weird side as well as those still in love with TV on the Radio circa 2006 will appreciate the bulk of the instrumentation. It’s pure Bushian pop, which means charming and goofy.

There’s currently two versions of the song floating around, a 4:17 radio edit from that premiered today on the BBC2 and a 7:16 album version. 

Kate Bush – “Wild Man” by antirecords