| Muse--The Resistance |
| Written by Ben Woody |
|
The new Muse album is pompous and over-the-top. But is it any good? Muse—The Resistance The two-time kings of prog-alt-rock return to capitalize on their recent over-commercialization to increase their record sales. Refusing to wait until even finishing their first track, Muse is back almost exactly where they left off from their windfall profits from Black Holes and Revelations with their brand new album, The Resistance. After rising to a high level of musicianship with their first slew of albums, Origin of Symmetry, Showbiz, and Absolution, Muse’s creative force Matthew Bellamy ventured into a heavy electronic-flavored dance-fest with Black Holes and Revelations in 2006. What was so great about the older Muse albums was their creative and intricate guitar solos (see: “Plug in Baby”), appropriate splicing of chords and drums (see: “Showbiz”), and emotional charged lyrics (see: “Sunburn”). Not Bellamy’s androgynous vocals (see: “Supermassive Black Hole”), nor their predictable and unimaginative melodies (see: “Starlight”), nor their willingness to sell their magnum opus short in the name of consumerism (see: “Knights of Cydonia” and “Guitar Hero 3;” “Supermassive Black Hole” and “Twilight”). Aside from the claims that Bellamy’s employment of a falsetto was ripped from Thom Yorke’s success, Muse was an original and an exciting band. The Resistance, a highly anticipated album by Muse fans, circumscribed the Atlantic Ocean that was supposed to return them to a state of musical genius. Unfortunately, they chose to answer the standards that label Warner Bros. set for them. It’s more radio-ready content, probably type-casted into another script from the second Twilight film. Starting with the first track, we are given the typical Muse prologue. As every first track on every previous Muse album has done, “Uprising” completely indicates the compromised style that smothers the album. Too much electronica to meddle through, too much melodrama to sift through , and too much like Goldfrapp to be considered an original work- all good reasons to strongly dislike the first (of probably ten) single on the eleven-track album. “The Resistance” backs off the poppy beat and rhythm that ruined “Uprising,” but snowballs into another dance tune. “It could be wrong, could be wrong,” is a lyric from the refrain that sums up the song nicely. “Undisclosed Desires” should be self-explanatory. I guarantee you that in the age of tween-romanta-vampirism (see: Twilight and True Blood), this song will represent badass outcast vampires everywhere. It splices counterfeit Timbaland beats with god-awful lyrics. I want to reconcile the violence in your heart, “Guiding Light” attempts to climb Mount Pompous, trekking steadily upward with cheesy 80’s drum machine ready and another uninventive guitar solo. “Unnatural Selection” drags on and on with neither purpose nor direction. Same story with “I Belong to You.” Honestly, it’s almost as if they were forced to play instruments together with no objective. The final three tracks on the album are some sort of mini-epic-rock opera, with Bellamy trying his damnedest to recreate an entire opera on his own vocal range. The second of the three tracks features a piano prelude, then a bit of a tune reminiscent of “Collateral Damage” from earlier in the album gives way to more melodramatic rock. Despite the crescendo, nothing truly powerful occurs, and it leaves us with another handful of melodramatic rock. Bellamy has given up the art of guitar, and piano seems to be his new digs. Had the artist been someone other than Muse, I would have condoned the album. Unfortunately, this is an album released by the band formerly known as Muse, so I can’t say that I really enjoyed it. |
