ROLL THE BONES

Roll the Bones sees Rush continue the tendency that begun in Presto to gently excise the synth-heavy aspects of their 80s sound and return to a more guitar-focused approach. This time around, the band also seem to make a conscious attempt to incorporate influences from various indie-rock trends of the day - as well as a diversion into hip-hop on the title track - the synth backing on the section is pretty good, but Geddy Lee trying to rap is an experiment best left unrepeated.

Still, setting that misstep aside incorporating newer sounds in principle isn't a terrible idea - at the very least, keeping an eye on current musical trends can help a band save themselves from stagnation. However, the execution here leaves something to be desired; the album at points lacks personality and spark, and when you combine this with a production job which seems curiously lacklustre considering the technical polish Rush habitually gave their releases it all adds up to one of their least essential albums.

It's grown on me, but not so much that I'd consider this to be Rush entirely pulling out of the run of OK-but-not-great albums they'd been on since Hold Your Fire - they're clearly still trying to right the ship, but it's not happened yet. Still, there's nice moments on here; Ghost of a Chance feels warmer and more soulful than Rush have for quite a while, and perhaps the best parts of the album as a whole are where the new guitar-oriented direction blends with residual elements of their 1980s synth sounds in an interesting fashion.