PERMANENT WAVES

New Wave hit with a bang in the late 70s and early 80s and Rush came right on board, well sort of. After Hemispheres they were done with the long epic pieces and wanted some middle ground on the newest album which they got. Right from the opening riff of The Spirit of Radio that things were gonna be different for them. This album is full of new lush keyboards, reggae influences and single worthy songs like Spirit of Radio and Freewill. There are still longer pieces for the lovers of the old Rush with Jacob's Ladder and Natural Science which are classic tracks in their own right. Then Rush tries to give a take on the love song format with Entre Nous and Different Strings. In a way they could be one whole song but they split them up and each one is fantastic in the music and lyric department. Overall this album is a big step towards the next album but it showed they weren't afraid to change their sound and do new things. 5 stars. Highlights: The Spirit of Radio, Jacob's Ladder, Different Strings and Natural Science.