Rush
Snakes & Arrows

There are truly few bands that, after over 30 years of career, manage to produce an album so innovative and fresh with new ideas that doesn't reek of déjà vu. And among these few, the Rush definitely cannot be left out! It makes us wonder how this is possible!

The three Canadians have always been endowed with a particular genius ensuring that each of their albums isn't a carbon copy of their past. But 30 years is a long time, and being able to remain so clear-headed after so many years is not for everyone. Too many bands, as their careers progress, have lost creativity, thus falling into banality and repetitiveness, losing credibility with their fans about their future. But not the Rush! Probably, they have never been content with merely replicating their great past achievements and have always wanted more! A band that never believed in the impossibility of matching their glorious past and has fully honored this belief!

Even while carrying the conviction of having written masterpieces destined to remain milestones in their repertoire, they never held the belief that such masterpieces were unmatchable and always believed in the potential to write others, perhaps not necessarily at those levels but always capable of leaving a mark! For fans of many bands with a glorious past, the news of a new album doesn't bring hope for a masterpiece or something quite new but simply for an album that is "at least good and listenable" (see Metallica, U2, Guns'n'Roses, Aerosmith, etc... I know I should also mention Dream Theater, but those who think like that, to me, are just detractors) but not for Rush fans... The hope of encountering a new masterpiece is still there; maybe it isn't always fulfilled, but at least it's there!

This is the feeling one gets after listening to "Snakes And Arrows," the eighteenth studio album from the Canadian rock band. After a surprisingly energetic album like "Vapor Trails," they took a 5-year break to reflect and gather ideas on how to set up the next album so it would come out sufficiently fresh rather than potentially returning the next year with a vague and bland disc due to being hastily produced. It was definitely worth it; "Snakes And Arrows" really doesn't at all show a band of over-fifty-year-olds with 33 years of career behind them who have reached mental fatigue... it actually shows a rejuvenated band made of indestructible minds still capable of delivering surprises.

Sound-wise, the album offers a mix of hard rock and progressive rock which had greatly heralded Rush’s success in the late '70s but is colored with new ideas that prevent the album from being a déjà vu. For example, there are noted rock-blues reminiscences, folk-rock influences, and lyrics and music that highlight the band's more introspective and reflective side more than ever. Notable is the emphasis placed on the acoustic guitar, never so prominently featured. Also, the variety of instruments used makes the album interesting: in addition to acoustic, electric, and 12-string guitars, we find mandola, mandolin, and bouzouki. Once again, keyboards are set aside (with the exception of light inserts in "The Main Monkey Business" and "Faithless"), but their absence isn't heavily felt, thanks to the respectable work of the various instruments. And the recording quality is spectacular! Never a sound so clear and pure, free from impurities.

Surveying the tracks, we find immediate songs like the powerful opener "Far Cry" and "Spindrift", more reflective and dreamy ones among which "Faithless" and "Bravest Face" certainly stand out, tracks with a strong acoustic connotation like "Armor And Sword", "The Larger Bowl", and the bluesy "The Way The Wind Blows". Also fantastic is the instrumental trio comprising an ethnic and oriental "The Main Monkey Business", the reflective folk-oriented acoustic "Hope", and the harsher "Malignant Narcissism" with an impeccable rhythmic section where Geddy Lee turns his bass into almost a destructive weapon!

But all the tracks, even those not mentioned, are very valid and never random. We are certainly facing one of the most valid releases of 2007, and moreover, produced by a group that, after so many years, shows no signs of fatigue, which counts double. Lovers of music made with heart will surely love it. I know we should still wait a while to hear Rush at work again, but when we do, we will be able to say again (my feeling) "Rush is still here!"