SNAKES & ARROWS

As a fan, I read all the announcements the musicians did previous to the release of Snakes and Arrows. In one of them, Geddy (or was it Alex?) said that the record had been composed as in a gig, with one´s ideas being the counterpart of the others´, as it was supposed to be in the first days, feeling fresh and excited about the result of this.

It seems to be a common place between long-career bands to summon their beginnings as a comeback to their essence, and I must say that it rarely works, and more rarely work near past things out. So, if Vapor Trails was a weak album, Snakes & Arrows not only doesn´t fix his predecessor faults, but also insist on that, and pretends to be a comeback. But it´s not revision of the past glory, just a very poor and reactive movement, and by no means this could be related to an essence of Rush.

What about the music? Predictive, raw sound, repetitive. Mid tempo songs move between the insipid and the unbearable, such as Spindrift, Faithless or Good News First. Arrangements almost absent from Alex´s guitar, and totaly predictable when present. Melody, variations, tempo changes, are also out of this record. Geddy´s voice doésn´t show any variations between the songs, poor interpretations, and the worst fact is that it fits extremely forced with the lyrics in some cases (check the awful Good news first). Even lirically is a depressing one, words by Peart are strangely obvious and full of common places about religion, injustice and freedom of thought, but nearer to a rebel confidential school teenage than to the composer of Natural Science or Freewill. Really disappointing on The way the wind blows (how many more times will we hear comparisons with dark Middle Age days) or The Larger Bowl (inequity on the world, what an original topic; is this Neil that brilliant liberal of the 70´s, the one who wrote Anthem, Freewill, Dreamline, Roll the Bones? I resist to believe so...).

More general: the album is very long, with few new ideas and no risk at all. The strong points are first single Far Cry, the three instrumental tracks and maybe Armor and Sword or Working them Angels. But insufficient to lift the disappointing feeling of a very bad album. And, for me, an absolute opposite to progressive music.