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From muse.mu

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Following our competition for you the fans to hear and review the band’s new album, the reviews are in and we’ll be posting them one a day on muse.mu this week. First up, a 10/10 review from Mr James Murphy…!
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For ten years now, Muse have produced music that pushes the boundaries, sometimes smashing through them at an alarming speed.  The quality of music has only ever improved, growing in stature and boldness with each album.  ‘The Resistance’ is no exception whatsoever.

It is strange how many ‘pinnacles’ have been suggested Muse have reached.  (This is something of a compliment after a large section of the media dismissed them very harshly as a poor man’s R****head after the release of ‘Showbiz’.)  ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ was never going to be bettered was the opinion of some when reviewing the album.  Then came the two shows at Wembley.  At the time it did feel like the end of something.  An end to any straggling doubters maybe.  But instead of sitting back and admiring their achievements, Muse have used all albums and the experience of monumental gigs that have gone before as a launch pad and by doing so have created something quite staggering.

It all begins with ‘Uprising’ which is a perfect first single too.  A song that appears to be influenced by a magnitude of bands whether it be T-Rex, Goldfrapp or Blondie.  It stomps its way out of the speakers in all its pomp-rock glory, before Doctor Who style synths give away that this album is broadcasting from space whilst the lyrics and incredibly catchy tune bring us back down to an angry, rebellious Earth.

Next up is ‘Resistance’.  I must admit that the 30 second preview left me under-whelmed by this song.  Although it is very harsh to judge a song on such a short listen, the half a minute did leave me a bit miffed.  I was delighted to be proved so very, very wrong.  ‘Resistance’ starts with an ethereal atmosphere before the tinkling of Matt’s piano enters in a similar vein to ‘Starlight’.  The 30 second clip leads into a stonking chorus with Matt singing ‘Love is our Resistance’.  I could almost hear this song being played live and could easily be a crowd favourite during the tour.  ‘Resistance’ proved to be a searing, quite brilliant love song.

‘Undisclosed Desires’ is unfamiliar territory for Muse.  The only thing that gives away its creators is the deep bass line. Everything else is quite alien.  The beat and soothing chorus suck you in though until you could quite easily imagine yourself in a very twisted nightclub somewhere on the outskirts of Cydonia.  This is sure to split Muse fans but what will be agreed by everyone is that it’s a gutsy move for the band, one which they pull off very successfully.

‘Undisclosed Desires’ may be considered as a mad step for Muse but what follows is totally and utterly bananas.  ‘United States of Eurasia’ makes a worldwide treasure hunt looking for hidden USB sticks with encrypted messages waiting to be deciphered inside look like a quite sane and mundane thing to do.  The song starts off innocently enough with a laid-back rhythm and gentle singing until a Queen-style crescendo blasts us into the far reaches of the universe.  Muse themselves find this song humourous and you cannot but smile and totally enjoy the insanity of chanting ‘Eurasiaaaa!!!  Siaaa!!!  Siaaa!!!  Siaaa!!!’  The song concludes with ‘Collateral Damage’ which consists of Matt on the piano (hmm, sounds familiar, this tune) over the sounds of the playful laughter of children and engine noises of jet planes flying over their innocent heads.  Cheery stuff.

Matt’s always been known to have a singing voice that is very distinctive, unique and unashamedly brilliant.  During ‘Guiding Light’ Matt gives us an astounding vocal performance, one that leaves you awe-struck.  The song opens in dramatic fashion without a pause between the previous song before Matt belts out the lyrics with such sentiment and emotion you really wonder just what he was feeling when he wrote this song.  The slow guitar solo encapsulates the mood the vocal display gives us and is equal in intensity.  ‘Guiding Light’ is screaming to be played live.

‘Unnatural Selection’ is the longest song on ‘The Resistance’ if you count the three parts to ‘Exo Genesis’ as songs in their own right.  Coming in at just under seven minutes it is epic to say the least.  The beginning is mis-leading, much like the start of ‘New Born’.  The comparisons to the ‘Origin of Symmetry’ classic do not end there.  Once Matt has told us he wants the truth a riff as heavy as ‘New Born’ and as ferocious as ‘Hysteria’ kicks in.  Chris’s signature bass sound thunders through the air whilst a great drumming display from Dom confirms that when Muse want to rock they don’t hold back.  About four minutes in the song calms, gradually building in intensity once more before Matt screams ‘I want the truth’! before the flood gates open and in comes the monstrous riff acting as the songs climax.  ‘Unnatural Selection’ is one of Muse’s finest moments to date.

The pace doesn’t slow down afterwards either.  ‘MK Ultra’ hardly lets up from start to finish.  The song has an air of ‘Thoughts of a Dying Atheist’ to it, especially in the verses but the comparison ends there.  It’s fast-paced, free-flowing and incredibly infectious.  The tune sticks with you for a long time afterwards.  MK Ultra is a fantastic rock song that will keep the more mosh-friendly Muse fan happy.  ‘Unnatural Selection’ may still be messing with your head when you hear this for the first time but I’m sure after a few listens this will be a stand out moment from a stand out album.

After all that’s gone before it, ‘I Belong to You’ may seem to be the weakest track on the album.  Once the song settles and the shock that the intro sounds very similar to a ‘Maroon 5’ track wears off you are left with a very quirky love song.  A love song where the word ‘Muse’ is used brilliantly and unashamedly before ‘Mon Coeur S’ouvre A Ta Voix’ begins complete with a French Matt Bellamy and a clarinet solo which surprisingly works extremely well.  Muse have always had moments in their music where you can do nothing but smile (USoE and the insanity of Knights of Cydonia to name two) but this is extremely humourous.  The French is pretty incomprehensible and the clarinet places tongue firmly in cheek but for some reason it all comes together and works well!  ‘I Belong to You’ (Mon Coeur S’ouvre A Ta Voix) produced images of a disturbing carnival in my mind and I can’t quite comprehend why.

And so it comes to this. The finale of ‘The Resistance’.  The much hyped, highly anticipated ‘Exo-Genesis’.  A thirteen-minute symphony that swells and subsides, swoons and strides, blasts and ignites into an absolute monster.  Nothing you have heard on the album could possibly prepare you for the atmosphere the music creates and the visual journey ‘Exo Genesis’ takes you on. It conjures up all sorts of imagery.

It begins with ‘Overture’.  An incredibly moody, dark, sinister piece of music that creates images in your mind of some sort of apocalypse, whether it being a man-made Armageddon or the earth itself opening up and swallowing whole cities.  The rise and fall of the strings and the falsetto wailing of Matt fit so flawlessly you could be mistaken in thinking you were listening to one instrument.  Piano links ‘Overture’ with ‘Cross Pollination’.  The second part of ‘Exo Genesis’ is angrier and captures the feeling of how desperate mankind (due to our own-doing) has become for help.  Matt sings ‘You must rescue us all’, a plea to an unknown saviour or perhaps an ultimatum to the few who have plunged the planet into chaos.

Separated by a brief dramatic pause comes the finale of the finale.  ‘Redemption’.  It is a breath-taking, beautiful, uplifting piece of music that signifies the end of planet earth and the beginning of something truly wonderful.  ‘Let’s start over again’ sings Matt with enough conviction that you could be convinced we’re all about to up sticks and click in place our seat belts on a spaceship which will take us to a brighter future.  The whole of ‘Exo Genesis’ is incredibly moving and if you aren’t stirred by it, you couldn’t possibly have a soul.  It is staggeringly beautiful which I’m not embarrassed to admit, left me shaken.

To be honest, it would take a lot of cash for me not to have given this album anything other than a high score even before hearing it.  But saying that I could not have predicted just how incredible, beautiful, sweeping, fantastically bombastic and over the top this album is.  Muse have accomplished something quite astonishing and I mean that very sincerely and without Muse goggles on.  It reminds me of ‘Origin of Symmetry’ in a way.  It has the same feeling of breaking through and creating something new, fresh and exciting.  ‘The Resistance’ is not a pinnacle, it’s a rebirth.

10/10