CLOCKWORK ANGELS

The final Rush album is very impressive, considering the age of the performers and their work leading up to this. I wouldn't call this a prog masterpiece but it's a great album with several interesting sections and a neat concept. The first two tracks premiered a couple years prior to promote the Time Machine Tour, giving the fans a taste of the past and future of the band, and really set the bar high. Caravan is a great opener with a riff that embodies what Rush were doing in their later years, taking something simple and playing around with it until it's more interesting. I love the bass part in BU2B during the pre-chorus, taking a radio friendly song and giving it something to define it. The title track is just awesome, it just sounds so huge! My favourite is The Anarchist, wicked riff and lyrics, you can really hear each band member's strengths while showing they can write a cohesive long song so far removed from their prog albums. Carnies is alright, a song that really came to life in a live setting, helped by an enormous fireworks budget and string ensemble, but on the album it sort of blends in. Similar story for other tracks like Halo Effect and Wish Them Well, which were fun live but I find almost irritating here, especially the latter. The Wreckers is a good single song, written with Alex on bass and Geddy on guitar, an interesting approach. Seven Cities of Gold is heavy and huge,.and Headlong Flight is a hell of a jam with a focus on Neil Peart's drumming virtuosity. These two are absolute Rush classics, but The Garden is a fantastic end to a great album and exceptional career, it's probably the biggest departure from their later style with an abundance of strings and a section with Alex on piano. This album is so full of life which can't really be said for the work that came before it, this is certainly their best album in 25 years and absolutely recommended for any fan of Rush or music in general. 8.5/10