Muse
The Second Law

Here it is finally, the long-awaited sixth album!

The Muse return to the music scene with the publicity clamor of big pop stars that they have now become! Pop because they sell, because they are common.....and "simple".

If there is one thing that stands out from this album to the credit of the Muse, it is their huge ability to synthesize simplicity and complexity in such an intelligent manner that surely makes this band a unique case in the gigantic and failing music business show!

The Olympics arrive and the soundtrack is theirs. "Survival", a track that has very little in common with the usual "advertisement" songs, has the courage that today is most missing from the big screen groups: the solos. This single confirmed the Muse's ability to bring together truly refined orchestral parts(listen to the choirs), a catchy tune capable of becoming a hit, and a desire to showcase their live prowess. And everyone hoped for the best when this single was played during the London ceremonies.

Then "Madness" arrives...and everything collapses: the fear that perhaps the Muse have exaggerated with their innovation, with the "trying something else" and crossing too lightly the boundary between trash pop and Pop. But to silence every malicious tongue comes the first live performance of this single and the band shows that it wasn't a "joke"; they play it all, without backing tracks, perfectly adding that energy that YouTube doesn't allow. It feels like a playback and this little Pop lightness transforms into a "delicacy that doesn't take itself too seriously".

And finally, the album comes out. An album that must do something more than "Survival" and above all explain to us this damned "Madness".

The second Law is not the album of a lifetime, behind each song there is no story. This is an album born of the zero generation that uses Pads to play, that believes in electronics and that especially looks to the past with nostalgia because everything has already been done.

The Muse wondered what could be done anew...nothing...that's the point. And so what to do? Just write a sixth album, put a bit of everything in it, try to do something different, and show the world that they have clear ideas.

So it starts with "Supremacy" and it seems the band wants to tell us: "hello, we're the Muse, the ones we once were." Excellent track, beautiful. Then comes "Madness" and we're told: "well, this is us today." What to say at this point? "Panic Station" takes care of it, stating: "if we want, we can also try a bit of funk and sing like Steve Wonder"; one of the best tracks on the album, fun and tasteful. They continue with "Survival" where they remind us of the taste for the classic and the Queen. "Follow Me" is a nice track, but sad. Sad because they fall back into electronics and the Muse have shown they use it too naively, perhaps to get talked about. On the edge with Lady Ga Ga. From here on, the album alternates medium-quality tracks like "Animal", "Explorer", and "Save Me" which perhaps showcase a slight compositional decline. But despite weak ideas, the band always knows how to fill the songs with class, which never feel empty and have their reason for being. With "Big Freeze" they look at U2, and "Liquid State" wins the award for the worst track on the album.

The finale consists of two instrumental tracks; inferior compared to the closing of "The Resistance" but Unsustainable has something prodigious. It's not beautiful but this is an album that will sell millions of copies and the courage to blaspheme classical music with some Dub-Set is very ambiguous. What does it mean?

Maybe the Muse will overdo it sooner or later and end up like Coldplay, but for now, they remain one of the best things you can listen to. Bellamy is the Artist of these years; the quality and talent are there, just have faith that the rock of tomorrow certainly passes through this album. What awaits us?