I must admit that I have always viewed Muse as a poor-man’s Radiohead circa 1995. I always thought lead singer Matthew Bellamy listened to The Bends one too many times and just thought “I can do that, only bigger and darker.” I tried in vain to get into Absolution, listening to it several times before deciding there was nothing on the disc I had not heard before. Despite some competent vocals and a few good hooks smattered throughout, every time I listen to a Muse album I am mostly impressed by how average it is.
If their previous albums were stuck in “the bends”, then The Resistance is Muse’s OK Computer. It’s a welcome step forward for the band, taking their sound into new territory and actually creating a sound of their own. No song on this album comes across as “average”. Each song has its own distinct twist on the dystopian techno-esque Muse style, with subtle nods to bands like Queen, Tears for Fears, INXS, Bowie and yes, Radiohead. But instead of feeling like a lesser knock-off, it comes across as a genuine nod to their influences with their own style emerging as the dominant cohesive sound.
The Resistance is a big album. It feels epic, has many, many strings, and Bellamy’s vocal feats would verge upon overpowering the songs if they weren’t so beautiful. Typically their sound is one that I almost always label as “overproduced”. Do you really need a full band, two vocal tracks, a symphony, synthesizer and backing chorus all in one song? There’s even a three-part opus at the end called “Exogenesis: Symphony”, which in 14 minutes sort of sums up the album’s themes and major elements as well as showcasing just how big and powerful they can sound, despite super-high-pitched vocals that would make Celine Dion jealous.
I approached the album with a fair bit of skepticism, after being fairly uninterested with their last couple albums after only a few listens. Not so with this one. I’ve been playing it constantly for the past two weeks, and each time I get a little something new out of it. It is a beautiful album, with unique and memorable songs that really do make you stop and remark on the amount of hard work that must have gone into producing an album of this quality – and it was Muse themselves that produced it (a first for the band).
If you have never bought a Muse album before, this is a great place to start. You may enjoy their older catalogue, but this is the album that will stick with you. It has caused me to re-examine my opinion of the band entirely, which is no small feat after four previous attempts. They have proven to me that they are capable of being more than just a band that can replicate the sound that Radiohead outgrew over a decade ago.
Bean says:
How did you not like Absolution? I’ll give you the Radiohead thing on Showbiz & Origin of Symmetry, but Absolution was fantastic. I was a little let down by Black Holes and it took me a few listens to really appreciate The Resistance. Still pissed I didn’t go to see them when they were here back in 05, but at least I get to see them in Montreal in March. That is all.