Creativity Quote by Gavin Rossdale

Rossdale’s praise lands less like a critical verdict and more like a musician admitting where his nervous system goes quiet. “Absolutely mesmerizing” is a deliberately blunt phrase: not “innovative,” not “important,” but bodily. It frames Low and Will Oldham as artists who don’t win you over with hooks so much as with atmosphere and restraint. That’s a loaded admiration coming from the frontman of Bush, a band defined in the ’90s by loud/quiet dynamics and arena-ready catharsis. He’s pointing to a different kind of power: the slow-drip spell of music that refuses to perform urgency.

The subtext is taste-positioning. Name-checking Low (Minnesota slowcore minimalists) and Oldham (Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s shapeshifting, indie-folk ambiguity) signals an allegiance to the indie canon without sounding like he’s trying to defect from mainstream rock. He’s not saying, “I wish I made that.” He’s saying, “I’m listening, seriously.” In the post-grunge ecosystem, that matters: credibility isn’t just about sales, it’s about demonstrating your influences extend beyond your own radio format.

There’s also a specific idea of masculinity embedded here. Low and Oldham trade in vulnerability and unease, often delivered in hushed tones; “mesmerizing” becomes a permission slip to be moved without turning it into a spectacle. Rossdale’s intent feels conversational, but it’s strategic in the way good artist talk is: he’s aligning himself with music that trusts silence, ambiguity, and emotional negative space.