I've listened to this record probably about two dozen times already and each listen gets better and better. Overall, every song is at a medium pace and fattened with thick crunch guitars that harken back to the early-to-mid 90s. If I had to complain about something, it would be how basic the drums are on most of the tracks.
I can remember specifically which songs stood out on the very first listen. Those were "Bullet Holes", "Blood River", "Send In The Clowns", "Our Time Will Come", and "Falling Away". Also, the lone mellow song "Undone" stands out among the wall of guitar crunch it is sandwiched inbetween.
Two of those songs made me "studio smile". This is a very specific type of smile that musicians and songwriters (like myself) make when they're listening to a mix of their audio track and they have realized that they have successfully translated the feeling in their head to audio output. This is perfecting your craft. In the case of listening to another person's music, it's being in sync with someone else's craft. I studio-smiled through the entire chorus of "Blood River" the first time I heard it. I successfully predicted how the second half was going to be sung after listening to the first half. Synced up, man! This happened again during the short guitar lead in "Send In The Clowns". Maybe it reminded me of a different song, but that part rocks and I wish it was longer, especially when it wails out at the end. They could have Freebirded it and have it ring out for two more measures before kicking back into the final chorus.
The verse "Our Time Will Come" has a strong Alice in Chains vibe, and the climatic "Falling Away" sounds like one of my favorite lesser-known bands called Dredg.
I want to mention that "Send In The Clowns" might be my favorite track on the album. I'm starting to wonder if it was originally called "Send In The Clones". I haven't properly sat down and read along with the included lyrics, but Rossdale is one of those singers who you rarely mishear due to his singing style. There is a clear theme throughout the record about humans and robots, and it would make sense that he was singing about clones rather than clowns. But maybe I need to read all the lyrics and come back to this review.
But yeah, this is my second favorite Bush record, behind the untouchable Sixteen Stone of my youth.