TEST FOR ECHO

It seems like one step forward and two back for RUSH on their 16th studio album TEST FOR ECHO. After a promising return to a hard rock sound that they had exhibited on their previous album, they decided to tone it down a bit again recalling the tepidness of their late 80s and early 90s works. I honestly don't know what to think about this album. First listen, hated it. Second listen, appreciated it a little more. Third listen, appreciated it but found it relatively boring. I pretty much stopped there as far as evolving any opinion about the musical content.

Although Neil Peart took drum lessons to learn how to incorporate jazz methods and the band plays well, the songs seem weaker and we basically get the same kind of alienating distant sounding distorted tracks that 'Counterparts' had to offer only the newly energized passion seems to be dampened quite a bit. It's an ok album that will neither offend nor excite which is too bad because I was hoping for a lot more after such a promising glimpse on the prior album. The art work is actually better than the music which incorporates the cultural ways of the native American Innuit of Northern Canada. Overall a big fat disappointment.