Rossdale has seen it happen before. Often dismissed as just another "pretty boy" frontman, the brooding Londoner can't understand why Bush just can't seem to get a break from the press.

"I've written every song we've ever recorded," he insisted. "Plus, I don't think I'm all that handsome. I spent lots of years as a musician and nobody gave a (darn) if I lived or died. It's prejudice. If they're going to attack me about my looks, how can I control it?"

The mostly teenage fans certainly aren't complaining. Bush has sold more than 14 million copies of its first two albums, "Sixteen Stone" and "Razorblade Suitcase" and the quartet is a staple of the modern-rock radio format.

Rossdale, 32, says he understands why his band is so frequently attacked by the media. Becoming pop stars was not the band's intention, he says. "I didn't know this was gonna happen, and it's not my fault," he said during a recent visit to LA. "You have to go ask all the people who buy our albums. I know that we'd be getting an easier time of it if we'd sold a fifth of all those records."

Bush's latest disc, "The Science of Things"(Trauma/Interscope), wasn't the out-of-the-box smash many expected. The disc, which spawned the current KROQ/106.7 FM hit "The Chemicals Between Us" peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and recently dropped to No. 24.

But Rossdale says the subject matter of the new album demands closer inspection and may not be instantly accessible to listeners in the way "Sixteen Stone" and "Razorblade Suitcase" were. Bush's previous albums produced hits such as "Everything Zen", "Little Things", "Glycerine", and "Swallowed"--songs dealing with isolation, mortality and love.

Getting into the Heart of the Matter

Rossdale says "The Science of Things" discusses "the nature of things, the way people are."

To write the album, Rossdale moved into a rented house overlooking a lake on the west coast of Ireland. He says the stint allowed him to uncover issues close to his heart. He explains the track "Letting the Cables Sleep" is about friends or lovers unable to speak to each other, and the song was inspired by a friend with AIDS. "He couldn't bring himself to tell anyone for six months and went through hell by himself," Rossdale said. "It's very hard to find out that you weren't there for your friends. You just feel sad and helpless."

The new disc also contains an ode to slain Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten, titled "Dead Meat." Rossdale says he liked the idea of "turning the tables and having someone that had been exploited come back and seek revenge."

Rossdale's girlfriend, No Doubt chanteuse Gwen Stefani, dropped by sessions for "The Science of Things" to add backup vocals to the track "Space Travel." Asked about the state of their relationship, Rossdale is suddenly tongue-tied. "I dunno," he said. "I'm not sure. It's all too confusing. All I want to talk about is my record right now."

Bush--which also includes guitarist Nigel Pulsford, bassist Dave Parsons and drummer Robin Goodridge--is set to appear at KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas event December 11 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. Also on the bill are Foo Fighters, Save Ferris, 311 and Blink 182.

Formed in London in 1992 and roundly ignored at home, Bush targeted the United States, where fans quickly embraced the group's debut, "Sixteen Stone," which sold more than 8 million copies. Critics, however, labeled the band "Nirvana wanna-be's" and wrote the Brit export as a grunge rip-off. "We had nothing to do with what was going on at the time in Britain," Rossdale says. "We didn't write songs to be commercial and have hits. We just wanted to start an exciting rock band. And, in fact, everyone got our biggest influence all wrong. It wasn't Nirvana--it was the Pixies!"