Muse - The Resistance [Album]

Warner

September 22, 2009, 05:21 PM

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Muse, on their last album 'Black Holes and Revelations' well and truly broke through into the big time. Headline slots at any festival they wanted and sold-out arena tours throughout Europe, as well as a much larger recognition of the band in the United States of America, and all it took was one song that attacked the dance-floor like a maniac high on speed. Muse have a lot to thank 'Supermassive Black Hole' for, it would seem.

Now, 'The Resistance', follow-up to 'Black Holes...' has dropped, and it's... odd. Very odd indeed. The first single and opening track 'Uprising' seems a sensible enough move, feeling very much a direct continuation of the 'Supermassive Black Hole' sound so successful three years ago. A dirty, scuzzy bassline with an almost annoyingly catchy synthesizer lead over the top, complete with hand-claps in the background and unexpected bursts of squealing guitar. Fitting all of this, plus a chorus that could flatten mountains into the same song, 'Uprising' is the perfect first single.

After that, however, the weirdness begins to set in. Almost-title track 'Resistance' takes a disarmingly calm, peaceful introduction before bursting into a succession of "it could be wrong" refrains that seem rather borrowed from Queen. It's not the only time on 'The Resistance' Muse pull this trick either, with 'United States of Eurasia' coming so close to a total rip-off of 'We Are the Champions' and Freddy Mercury's 'Barcelona' in the space of one track that you can almost smell the lawsuit from where you're sat. Elsewhere, 'Guiding Light' directly lifts the rhythm section from 'Vienna' by Ultravox, leaving the listener slightly confused as to if they're listening to; a Muse album or a game of 'Guess The Influence' the band are leading.

'I Belong to You' however, is a whole new level of weirdness, even by Muse's standards. A strangely upbeat bass line with lyrics clearly love-centred but still rather obscure, paving the way for an interlude which vocalist Matt Bellamy sings entirely in French. Utterly pointless, but utterly riveting. Odd indeed.

Elsewhere, 'Unnatural Selection' is much more akin to the Muse of old, aggressive-sounding vocals ("I am hungry for some unrest/let's push it beyond a peaceful protest") coupled with heavy, spidery guitar riffs making for an essential addition to the album. Essential, mainly because with the exception of this track, 'The Resistance' which is almost completely devoid of stand-out guitar moments, or indeed a fat lot of guitar at all. This is a move which will undoubtedly alienate some fans, and a very brave one for the band.

The last three tracks on the album add up to what is talked about as Muse's masterpiece; a three-part symphonic piece entitled 'Exogenesis: Symphony'. It's three parts merge together beautifully, and although detractors will have the piece labelled a pompous and self-indulgent work, this reviewer agrees with anyone labelling it the best thing Muse have put their names to.

All in all? 'The Resistance' is a good solid album, which should see Muse's status in modern music forwarded even more whilst still retaining the band's reputation as total and utter nut-jobs. With a little more subtlety however, and less direct apeing of certain influences, this album could have been so much more and so much better.

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