Muse’s ninth studio album is one of many faces – marketed as a kind of greatest-hits album made up of only new songs, Will Of The People is a classic revision of the band’s definitive sound, combining licks of glam rock, industrial punk, and progressive metal.
On the other hand, it’s also the band’s most politicised album to date, tackling issues of corruption, climate change, social surveillance, and freedom of speech, and while protest has always charged Muse’s music, it has remained metaphoric. This time, they’re not singing about anything dystopian – they’re talking about real things, things happening in the world right now, such that Matt Bellamy’s trademark paranoia has never been less abstract.
Droning electronics pulse through tracks like “Will Of The People” and “Won’t Stand Down”, while Bellamy’s powerful falsettos soar in typical Muse fashion, culminating beneath the soft keys of album highlight “Ghosts (How Can I Move On)”. The track sees Bellamy at his most exposed, lush arpeggios the only accompaniment to an otherwise heartfelt performance.
Still, it’s no secret that Muse have always been a little melodramatic, and it all just becomes a bit contrived after a while. Tracks like “We Are Fucking Fucked” and “Compliance” pen anarchist narratives that ultimately fall flat because of their synthetic lyrics, while “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween” presents a mismatched blend of rock, disco, and pop, that bares uncanny resemblance to ABBA. I’m not kidding.
Still, Muse fans will no doubt find this album pleasantly nostalgic, recalling the sounds of “Supermassive Black Hole” and “Uprising” with a familiar likeness. If there’s one thing about Muse, it’s their resilience. Over the last decade, they’ve always managed to find their way back to their tried and tested sound, and Will Of The People gives it to us in heaps.
