Muse
The 2nd Law

"The Muse ended after Absolution," "The Muse have become tacky and sellouts," "The first two Muse albums were really good, now they suck"... And one could go on... These are all very common phrases that are always present when speaking about Muse. But I don't identify with any of them and I'm getting ready to talk about this new sixth work by Muse with a good dose of enthusiasm.

Certainly, "The 2nd Law" was the most anticipated album of the year, because Muse is one of the most appreciated and established bands in the modern music scene and enjoys good favor from critics. Additionally, probably due to their sound that over the years has become as much refined as it is catchy, they succeed like few other bands in attracting both occasional listeners (those, for instance, who play RTL in the car and listen to the usual four songs) and true enthusiasts. Quite unusual, given that most groups and artists who succeed on the radio and especially in clubs and among young people are instead (rightly) bashed and considered blatantly mediocre by true lovers of music as art. So its release has ended a more or less felt wait... and the reactions have been varied. Some continue to see them as a band full of creative vein and others, probably since "Black Holes and Revelation," speak of a band now trying with cunning arrangements to grab some extra cash. Personally, I recognize that the band's sound in recent productions has become more appealing to the mainstream... But I also say that the guys increasingly demonstrate the ability to move in the mainstream with great creativity and professionalism without selling out. Therefore, I indeed count myself among the first group. And let's see why.

The musical proposal is similar to that of the previous "The Resistance," essentially due to the choice to give much space to symphonic influences, alternating them however with more electronic ones, all with an approach ever less markedly rock-oriented and leaving the more rock component an essentially contour role (so forget about tracks like "Plug In Baby" or "Micro Cuts"). Delving into the exploration, I recognize that in this album there are 5 or 6 truly genius tracks, the kind you don't expect or that evolve in unexpected ways... but in the end, you do expect them too, given that Muse is famously an unpredictable band, ready to realize the least expected! One above all is surprisingly "Madness," the single that conquered heavy rotation on the main radios. It is a modern, almost futuristic synth-pop track, disconcerting: it indeed has truly peculiar electronic riffs, bewildering anyone at first listen... but despite this very particular sound the track manages to be very catchy too, which is no small feat. Absolutely disconcerting is also "Follow Me" which starts with symphonic arrangements heralding a symphonic track... until the synths intervene to make us realize it is after all an electro-symphonic track... and you almost get a heart attack when distorted riffs and dance rhythms that seem borrowed from modern commercial house intervene! Who expected all this??? Yet here Muse makes us dance too, but with class, with a track that has a lively, starry-night feel! "Big Freeze" instead is a surprising reconciliation between U2 and Depeche Mode... in the future though! The nice guitar riffs are traversed by electronic effects that together marry quite well. The funk rock of "Panic Station" also stands out, crossed by very apt synth insertions.

But the two real strokes of genius are the two concluding electro-symphonic tracks. "Unsustainable" is an unusual mix of classical and, brace yourselves... dubstep! When that dubstep riff starts, I imagine how many calls to emergency services! Even from those who are perfectly aware of Muse's unpredictability. And "Isolated System" amazes too: on the symphonic textures intervene slight techno effects that could herald a bang as in "Follow Me" but the bang never comes, thus creating a strange apprehension in the listener. The rest of the album is less disconcerting but still quite varied. Excellent mix of rock and classical in the opener "Supremacy," devotion towards a more overtly symphonic sound in "Prelude" and "Explorers," very Queen-like "Survival," quite good is also the delicate "Animals." And then there are the two tracks written and sung by bassist Chris Wolstenholme about his battle against alcoholism. "Save Me," another example of symphonic rock, I really like and moves me quite a bit while "Liquid State" is instead quite a bland rock track, probably the least relevant track of the album. And so? Where would Muse's drop in inspiration be? Where are the missing ideas? It seems to me that this album disproves it all!

Muse reconfirms itself as an absolutely varied and unpredictable band, capable of combining elements in rather original ways and from which you never know what to expect. Far from faltering, the more they move forward, the more they grow and broaden their field of influences. I often hear comments where the band's beginnings, essentially the first two albums, are overly lauded. Okay, "Showbiz" and "Origin Of Symmetry" are two great records... but if they had stopped there, they would have always proposed the same raw and distorted rock with few variations and would not have evolved. Would you have preferred that? Personally, I wouldn't! I admit though that the ideas present in this album could also be delved into and developed better and one might feel that something is missing, even if these are small pieces. But I hope it represents only the groundwork of the new Muse, a band that lives in the future and can have it all in their hands!