“Snakes & Arrows”
Rush
Anthem/Atlantic Records
3 stars

As always with a Rush release, the musicianship and production on “Snakes & Arrows” is top-notch. Unlike 2002's “Vapor Trails,” this one features instrumentals, which always best show each member’s talent and uncanny ability to combine individual flair into powerful and cohesive music.

Drummer and lyricist Neil Peart this time focuses his ire on organized religion and life’s inequities. But other than the first single, “Far Cry,” too many of the songs are of the middling variety. It’s really only on the instrumentals that it feels like Rush collectively lets go of its inhibitions. Otherwise they tread too cautiously. After five years without new material, I hoped for more.