Ambushed By Scrunge

Bush has never been accused of doing the unpredictable.

The London-based combo, which plays the Spokane Arena with the Goo Goo Dolls and No Doubt Sunday night, has been labeled a blatant Nirvana copycat and called a scrunge band (second-hand grunge), putting it in with infamous bunch of bands such as Candlebox, Seven Mary Three, Silverchair and Sponge.

Like a true modern rock star, Bush’s handsome vocalist Gavin Rossdale has been seen tangling with Kurt Cobain’s widow and Hole leader Courtney Love, putting him on the elite list with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Evan Dando of the Lemonheads and Michael Stipe of R.E.M.

Now Bush has critics groaning again.

This time it’s because the quartet has enlisted Steve Albini, one of corporate rock’s biggest detractors, to record its next album.

The story of why Bush chose Albini is sketchy. Bush drummer Robin Goodridge skipped two phone interview appointments. And a phone call to Steve Albini himself came up empty - he’s in England working at Abbey Road Studios, presumably working on some rock star’s latest album.

Bush critics might say the band is looking for some street credibility in indie rock by employing one of its most prominent figures. After all, the band didn’t plant its roots in underground.

Further, critics might say Bush is doing the same thing Nirvana did for its major label follow-up.

Albini’s noisy hands just touched Veruca Salt’s new major label followup, a four-song EP entitled “Blow It Out Your…” The result is one heck of a raw, uncompromising effort from a band whose biggest hit, “Seether,” was a pillowy, edge-free pop song.

Say what you want about Bush, but the band made a smart move by hiring the Chicago producer.

The band opts for the noisy, be it grungy, spectrum of rock. And Albini hatches the noisiest, generally least grungy, non-commercial recordings in rock. The bands he turned knobs for include The Jesus Lizard, Tar, Mule and his own band Shellac. And most of the groups he works with aren’t signed to major labels.

Whereas Bush’s debut “Sixteen Stone” was over-produced, complete with multiple vocal tracks and guitar layers, Albini doesn’t allow what’s already not present to be introduced later. He doesn’t let bands hide behind anything. So, there are no vocal tracks, no over-dubs and no editing. Plus, songs are recorded in one or two takes and are generally done live.

The result is a final product that’s usually raw and exceedingly noisy. But it’s also honest, a true representation of the band and an album that doesn’t sound manufactured or contrived.

In addition, Albini produces fatter and heavier drum sounds than any other recording wizard around, which would greatly benefit Bush’s backbone - the rhythm section.

So when Bush’s highly-anticipated album comes out sometime next year, don’t expect the record to echo “Sixteen Stone.” You can count on fewer hit songs and more dissonance. That’s just what happens when Albini puts his stamp on a project.

Bush has churned out five hits, including “Glycerine,” “Everything Zen,” “Comedown” and its current smash “Machine Head,” whose riff bears a strong resemblance to NOFX.

Almost four million copies of “16 Stone” have been snatched up in the U.S. alone, an impressive feat since Rossdale was considered washed up in England in the mid-‘80s after his previous band, Midnight, flopped.

Unlike Bush, which was an overnight success, Sunday’s opening bands Buffalo, N.Y.’s Goo Goo Dolls and Orange County’s No Doubt have toiled in anonymity for years.

When the Goo Goo Dolls’ latest album “A Boy Named Goo” came out in February 1995, the band’s record company Warner Bros. called the band “America’s best-known unknown band,” which at the time was true.

That’s no longer the case for the Buffalo power-pop band thanks to to its smash hit “Name,” a song that continues to harvest strong airplay on MTV and radio.

The female-fronted No Doubt - a hybrid of new wave, ska and punk - has been sweating it out in Southern California since the late ‘80s.

The foursome’s first hit, the anthem “Just a Girl,” finally came on its third album “Tragic Kingdom,” which was released last fall.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: BUSH, THE GOO GOO DOLLS AND NO DOUBT Location and time: Spokane Arena, Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $21 reserved (General admission tickets are sold-out.)