05.01
Well it’s been 5 years since the last Rush album Vapor Trails was released so needless to say, I was excited about this new album. I’ve posted before about what Neil Peart said the theme of the album was going to be(lyric analysis in another post). In spite of that, I can’t help getting pumped whenever Rush releases new studio material. Especially these days when it’s so rare. I had heard the single Far Cry from the website and I wasn’t very impressed by it, but I’m rarely impressed by the single they release from each album. It usually ends up being my least favorite. I didn’t like One Little Victory either, but I liked most all the rest of Vapor Trails. Sadly, that isn’t the case with Snakes and Arrows.
There are plenty of Rush kool-aid drinkers out there that will listen to this album and proclaim it the album of the year, but in their hearts they know it’s not very fun to listen to. Notice, I didn’t say that the album was bad, because it’s not. When you have been around for 35 years and you are as talented as Geddy, Alex and Neil are, it’s almost impossible to put out a “bad” album. But that doesn’t mean that it’s interesting or fun to listen to though. Music can be good but boring at the same time, and that is what this album is to me. The quality is top notch, but the experience is lacking. The worst song from their first 15 studio albums is more fun to listen to than the best song from Snakes and Arrows.
So, enough chit-chat. Here’s the song breakdown:
1. Far Cry: Probably the most interesting non-instrumental on the album. You can’t beat the hemispheres-era breaks either. Driving intro and transitions, great syncopated riff in the chorus and the lead-in to the chorus. The music backing the verses is just generic and repetitive though.
2. Armor and Sword: This song is too slow. The transitions are nice and I like the guitar effects, but the vocals are really annoying. The doubling on Geddy’s vocals are starting to get on my nerves. I hope they stop that on the next album.
3. Workin’ Them Angels: I kind of like this song. It’s got some interesting parts that I wish they had expanded on. It reminds me of the song “Totem” from Test for Echo in a lot of ways.
4. The Larger Bowl: My gosh. This song is horrible. I’m sorry but this song sounds like it was written by a 5th grader. That’s all I can say about it.
5. Spindrift: Generic, generic, generic!!
6. The Main Monkey Business: This is my second favorite song on the album. It might not be as good as other memorable instrumentals of the past but it’s solid. It also gets extra kudo points just for being an instrumental in a world where rock instrumentals don’t exist anymore.
7. The Way the Wind Blows: Better than Spindrift, but again, the doubled vocals are really, really getting on my nerves.
8. Hope: My third favorite. Very satisfying acoustic piece. Sort of Natural Science-esque. Nicely done.
9. Faithless: This song has some cool moments. It sounds like an instant replay of half of the songs on Vapor Trails.
10. Bravest Face: Boring. It’s only redeeming quality is that it wasn’t the longest song on the album.
11. Good News First: Why does every song on this record have to be so sloooooooowwww. It’s almost over. Almost.
12. Malignant Narcissism: My favorite song on the album. Brings back memories of the instrumentals from Test for Echo. Lots of good stuff in here. And there’s even a couple of bass runs for good measure.
13. We Hold On: The bass and guitar duo toward the end is very cool but the rest of the song is lame. An appropriate note to go out on for this album.
All in all it was a dissapointing offering. They sucked me in and got my blood pumping with the Hemispheres sound in the title track and then failed to deliver. The “wall of sound” formula is starting to really get formulaic and old. It reminds me a lot of what happened on the Presto album. They brought a new sound with Power Windows, made it stale with Hold Your Fire and then flushed it down the toilet with Presto. Their current sound was fresh and new on Test for Echo, but it got a little stale with Vapor Trails. To me this album is worse than Presto though. There’s not a song on this album that could hold Chain Lighting’s jock strap.
No Comment.
Add Your Comment