''I Beat Loneliness'' is the tenth studio album by the British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band Bush, released on 18 July 2025 through

earMusic Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...

. The first single, titled "60 Ways to Forget People", came out on 17 April and was followed by "The Land of Milk and Honey", on 5 June. Described by ''Spill Magazine'' as one of Bush's most "vulnerable" albums to date, the lyrics on ''I Beat Loneliness'' tackle subjects such as

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived or actual isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism that motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perc ...

, and depression. Primary songwriter and frontman

Gavin Rossdale Gavin McGregor Rossdale is an English musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Bush. He helped form Bush in 1992. Upon the band's separation in 2002, he became the lead singer and guitarist for Institute an ...

described the record as Bush's "most personal" yet.

Background

On 2 September 2024, Bush frontman

confirmed that a new album had been recorded. On 2 January 2025, he announced that it would be titled ''I Beat Loneliness'' and that it would come out on 18 July. On 17 April, Bush unveiled details about the record, which coincided with the release of the first single, "60 Ways to Forget People". The album's second single, "The Land of Milk and Honey", came out on 5 June.

Content

The lyrics on ''I Beat Loneliness'' were heavily focused on

-related themes, a fact referenced in the title of the album; Mike DeWald of ''Riff'' magazine likened the role of frontman Rossdale to that of a

therapist A therapist is a person who offers any kinds of therapy. Therapists are trained professionals in the field of any types of services like psychologists, social workers, counselors, etc. They are helpful in counseling individuals for various mental ...

. Paul Travers of ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' categorised ''I Beat Loneliness'' as "a well-constructed slab of modern

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

with a strong melodic sensibility", also noting a few nostalgic nods to the past. Emma Johnston of ''

Louder Sound ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 196 ...

'' noted that the first half of the record "churn dout one blustery

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

rocker after another". "The Land of Milk and Honey" was described by ''Sonic Abuse'' as having a "memorable melody" that comes second only to "wind-tunnel guitars" reminiscent of Rossdale's formative influences, such as

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

and

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

. To contrast with the heavier first half, the second half was noted as being more subdued: according to Neil Z. Yeung of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, it consists of "a string of midtempo near-ballads". "We Are of This Earth" was described by ''Louder Sound'' as "dreamy, spacey, mournful little bit of echoing

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

". The subdued diversion is broken by "Footprints in the Sound", on which the band pursue a

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

sound.

Reception

''I Beat Loneliness'' received a

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

score of 61 out of 100, an aggregate ranking based on four reviews, which indicates a "generally favourable" reception. ''Album of the Year'' gave the record a score of 69 out of 100 on the basis of seven reviews. The ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' wrote a favourable review of the record, calling the songs a "forceful blend" of melancholy lyrical content and "explosive" choruses. Reviewer Garry Bushell praised

Chris Traynor Chris Traynor (born June 22, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bush (British band), Bush, since 2001. He was previously active in the post-hardcore group Orange 9mm, and h ...

's guitar riffs, in particular those on the track "I Am Here to Save Your Life". ''I Beat Lonliness'' received a mixed review from James Hickie of ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'', who gave the effort three out of five stars.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I Beat Loneliness 2025 albums Bush (British band) albums Edel SE & Co. KGaA albums