Snakes & Arrows

<i>Snakes & Arrows</i> is marked by a subtlety and deftness that comes with four decades of perfecting a craft. The album balances gutsy prog rock full of impenetrable distortion and tough riffs in “Far Cry” with the breathtaking complexity of “The Main Monkey Business”, which ripples with electric and acoustic guitars, trebly basslines and polyrhythmic pounding. Lyrically, Rush have grown more confessional with age: On the rippling “Faithless”, Geddy Lee’s sharp, melodic voice weaves a passionate rejection of organised religion.