>Must we do as we’re told? – Muse

There are only two more days left until the end of September and since I have featured Muse’s new album ‘The Resistance’ as the ‘Album of the Month’ on this blog, it seems only just that I supply some sort of reason as to why. Plus I had a very interesting discussion with Pope in the early hours of this morning while we both debated the fate of this album and it kinda inspired me.

Muse’s crowning glory for me was ‘Absolution’. There is no way in hell I could ever get tired of this CD. It’s one I could go to sleep to, wake up to and so on and so on. Naturally, for any Muse fan the prospect of a brand spanking new album only brings with it anticipation and I suppose, a great deal of anxiousness. Will it be good? Will it be crap? Well, if you remember what I wrote here a few weeks back, the initial comments weren’t too pretty. And subsequently the reviews for this album have been average-good. However the debate amongst Muse purists rages on. Read the Americanised Review Here. If you can even call that piece of crap a review.

So I downloaded ‘Uprising’ to see what all the fuss was about and to be honest, the hype was overrated. It’s a brilliant first single and has all the makings of a hit with a catchy hook and chorus (despite the desecration of Blondie’s ‘Call Me’) and has a very unique music video to boot, although for anyone with a fear of possessed teddy bears, I’d steer clear of this one.

I’m not going to do this track by track, but rather give a more general feel about the heights (and in some cases, lows) that Muse have taken to in their new music. Recorded at Studio Bellini off Lake Como in my motherland, I supposed Muse drank a shite load of really good Italian wine for the duration of their recording. What we are thus presented with are tracks like ‘The Resistance’ which resonates like an ode to a love lost, that is the only weapon “we” have against the tyrannical forces that oppress us in today’s society.

A lot has been said about the Timabaland influence on this album, with Bellamy himself saying that while recording this album, they listened to a lot of his work which shows in ‘Undisclosed Desires’, the result of this with a very prominent R’nB undercurrent following through it. But it’s just not Muse. In fact, it’s anti-Muse. We’ve come to expect these experimental tangents from Master Bellamy, but this track is, well – wack.

By far, my favourite tune (besides the three part Exogenesis symphony which concludes the album) has to be the socio-political epic ‘United States of Eurasia/Collateral Damage’. After the mellow introduction, when it kicks into high gear it reeks of the manic musicality that was Queen (think quintessential Queen ala Bohemian Rhapsody) and then launches into an Arabian-inspired melody, which is then rounded off by a gorgeous classical piano solo. It’s the juxtaposition of all these elements that result in a simply stunning mishmash, which you’re either going to smaak or give the middle finger salute to.

So after Bellamy tries his hand at some French inspired lyrics on ‘I Belong to You’ (I won’t even talk about the horrible clarinet solo) they launch into that three part symphony I spoke of in the last paragraph and this is probably the point at which most diehard Muse fans will breathe a sigh of relief. It starts off like a piece of soundtrack work from the genius of John Williams, set against some heavy electric guitar riffs and are complemented by Bellamy’s exquisite banshee-like vocals that are worthy enough to give anyone real goosebumps. To quote Pope, “this is Muse”. Indeed it is. And I am not ashamed to say that it brought me to tears. And we all know I don’t shed tears – except for that one time. But this time, I was weeping like a teenage girl watching The Notebook for the first time. Cry me a goddam river.

This album is worth buying (or downloading, but I have been berated before for encouraging illegal activities) just for its sheer audaciousness. I disagree with critics – this album is not unlistenable. And you’re not going to hear anything more progressive this year.