Rush was at all times celebrated for reinventing their sound on every album. However 1982’s Indicators could have been the largest reinvention of all of them. Indicators was the beginning of the “keyboard era” – the primary of a string of albums that gave synthesizers equal prominence with Alex Lifeson’s guitar. Simply as importantly, although, Indicators noticed the group streamlining its songwriting: Epic-length tracks had been out and preparations had been crafted to push the melodies ahead. This meant that you would begin to hear the band taking inspiration from the very best of contemporary rock: Hints of The Police, Peter Gabriel, Speaking Heads, and even Bob Marley had been all given a uniquely Rush twist on Indicators. Rush was now much less of a “prog” band, and extra of a very progressive one.
Appropriately, it was the primary Rush album to have an atmospheric opening observe as an alternative of a barnstormer. “Subdivisions” largely replaces lead guitar with the textural sound of a Minimoog. (The keys had been all performed by Lifeson and Geddy Lee, who’d now be doing double obligation onstage.) There have been different new wrinkles as properly: Lee was now singing with larger vary and subtlety. whereas Neil Peart traded his sci-fi lyrical themes for blunt social commentary. “Subdivisions” matches the rock & roll custom of songs in regards to the stifling nature of the suburbs. But it surely goes a step additional by mentioning that nonconformist children are nonetheless pressured to be the proper of nonconformist: “Be cool or be cast out.”
The surprises hold coming. Persevering with the “Fear” trilogy begun on Shifting Footage, “The Weapon” builds pressure for six minutes, with some well-placed drum accents from Peart. “The Analog Kid” returns briefly to a guitar-heavy sound, however provides a lush, emotive refrain. “Digital Man” borrows some Rastafarian imagery within the lyrics, and finds Rush incorporating reggae for the primary time. That affect pops up once more on “New World Man,” a music that turned probably the most profitable single of Rush’s profession. (It was the one one to ever hit the High 40 within the US, and it hit No.1 in Canada.)
Up till this level, Indicators’s sound is melodic however muscular. However then come the 2 closing tracks, that are in contrast to something Rush did earlier than or since. “Losing It” has a near-Baroque intro and is augmented by violin all through. One in every of Rush’s most haunting songs, its lyrics deal with the lack of inventive energy over time. It’s a subject that the majority 80s rock stars weren’t eager on addressing, however it’s one thing Rush would come again to on their subsequent album, the moody Grace Below Stress.
In distinction, “Countdown” is sort of actually an uplift. The group wrote the music after witnessing the takeoff of NASA’s first Columbia area shuttle. And “Countdown” is a literal musical image of the occasion, with sound results enjoying an important function within the association. The band responds to cues from the management tower all through, and engines are heard revving up beneath. Lyrically, it celebrates certainly one of Rush’s favourite themes, the glories of human achievement. It additionally serves as a superb metaphor for Indicators as an entire: Blasting off to courageous new worlds is strictly what this album was about.
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