On the Shelf 077: Muse
Oct. 18th, 2012 08:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23So, Muse has a new album out.
I have been a fan of the band since the very first (which is more impressive in that Showbiz was barely a blip on the American charts). I love them despite what detractors might find as their limitations (though to be fair, Glen Beck is still the bigger fan, not only being publicly rebuked , but even after that like the best of crestfallen lovers still dreams of the day they could be together).
I was worried that this might be where I jumped off though.
"Survival" was Muse's Olympic song, and tried to outQueen- Queen. That song was not only over-the-top, it was Spinal Tap-ish silly.
Second and third singles "Madness" and "Panic Station" didn't help matters. The former a bit uninspired and the latter a detour that was probably best not advised.
Add to this, that this was supposed to be Muse's venture into dub-step, and album that was inspired by Skrillex, and I figured this was where I was going to be forced to abandon ship.
The 2nd Law isn't where I leave though. No doubt, it's a misstep, but it's an ambitious one.
It works well as a collection of songs (and the singles, even "Survival" fare better as part of the whole).
Nor is the dubstep addition anything to complain about. The dubstep stuff (a genre I have little tolerance for) fits into the Muse schema quite well (It actually sounds more logical in a muse song than it does used in say, a Pitball or Alex Clare dance hit).
"Panic Station" still walks the fine line of cheese (as does some of the more ballady stuff), but it is certainly a grower, One suspects that somebody snuck The Uplift Mofo Party Plan on Matt Bellamy's iPod and labelled it "Unreleased Queen album).
So, while admitting most would do best by avoiding this, Muse at least seem to be making the right moves in trying to stay fresh. In many ways, I think I prefer this to The Resistance. Still like U2 (who Muse resemble here as well, when they aren't in Radiohead or Queen territory) two albums after a defining release in their career, this may be Muse's Pop. Black Holes and Revelations would be hard to repeat without some distance and new direction.
Thus, Muse does seem to be ready for what's next.
I have been a fan of the band since the very first (which is more impressive in that Showbiz was barely a blip on the American charts). I love them despite what detractors might find as their limitations (though to be fair, Glen Beck is still the bigger fan, not only being publicly rebuked , but even after that like the best of crestfallen lovers still dreams of the day they could be together).
I was worried that this might be where I jumped off though.
"Survival" was Muse's Olympic song, and tried to outQueen- Queen. That song was not only over-the-top, it was Spinal Tap-ish silly.
Second and third singles "Madness" and "Panic Station" didn't help matters. The former a bit uninspired and the latter a detour that was probably best not advised.
Add to this, that this was supposed to be Muse's venture into dub-step, and album that was inspired by Skrillex, and I figured this was where I was going to be forced to abandon ship.
The 2nd Law isn't where I leave though. No doubt, it's a misstep, but it's an ambitious one.
It works well as a collection of songs (and the singles, even "Survival" fare better as part of the whole).
Nor is the dubstep addition anything to complain about. The dubstep stuff (a genre I have little tolerance for) fits into the Muse schema quite well (It actually sounds more logical in a muse song than it does used in say, a Pitball or Alex Clare dance hit).
"Panic Station" still walks the fine line of cheese (as does some of the more ballady stuff), but it is certainly a grower, One suspects that somebody snuck The Uplift Mofo Party Plan on Matt Bellamy's iPod and labelled it "Unreleased Queen album).
So, while admitting most would do best by avoiding this, Muse at least seem to be making the right moves in trying to stay fresh. In many ways, I think I prefer this to The Resistance. Still like U2 (who Muse resemble here as well, when they aren't in Radiohead or Queen territory) two albums after a defining release in their career, this may be Muse's Pop. Black Holes and Revelations would be hard to repeat without some distance and new direction.
Thus, Muse does seem to be ready for what's next.
