Victor

Lifeson made this in 1996 while Rush was on a break, and it sounds like a guy using the time off to get something out of his system. Dark, a little industrial, not what you’d expect from the Rush guitar player. He barely sings on it. Other people handle most of the vocals, which was the right call.

“Shut Up Shuttin’ Up” is the one people bring up, a recorded married-couple argument laid over the music, and it’s every bit as uncomfortable as it sounds. The rest is heavier and moodier than anything Rush put out. Not for everybody, and clearly never meant to be. I don’t reach for it often, but when I do it’s late and I want something that isn’t trying to be liked.