Review: Muse - "The Resistance"
Brit Rockers Mix Glam, Prog, and Even R&B on an Eclectic New Disc
Sep 29, 2009
Muse is a British trio of inventive alt-rockers who blend elements of classical music, glam rock, prog rock, and - in their latest release - even Maroon 5-like R&B to create vast, harmony-rich arrangements that have inspired comparisons to every groundbreaking British band from Queen to Radiohead.
The Resistance (2009)
Muse begin the album with "Uprising," featuring a glammed-up bass and drum intro, followed by a Theremin-like synthesizer, summing up the group's trademark melding of strong beats with guitar and synth sounds (not to mention lyrics) that owe much to the world of science fiction.
One or two of the tracks to come could have fit comfortably on either Black Holes or Absolution. For fans, "Unnatural Selection" and "MK Ultra" sound very much like the latest songs from "the old Muse." Melodic rock with sometimes over-the-top vocals and a touch of bombast.
Every other track, however, seems to break new stylistic musical ground for the band, in ways both big and small.
Channeling Queen, Bowie, Rundgren, and. . . Maroon 5?
It is impossible to know what the real influences were behind songwriter Matthew Bellamy's choices here. But music fans of all ages can hear many of Bellamy's peers and predecessors coming through the mix:
- "Resistance" begins like a typical Muse track. . . then breaks into a chorus reminiscent of early Todd Rundgren.
- "Undisclosed Desires" starts with a programmed beat/synth/strings combination that sounds an awful lot like a Maroon 5 single - and nothing like anything Muse has previously released - before combining that with a chorus echoing some undiscovered David Bowie hit from the late 1970s.
- Before entering "Bohemian Rhapsody" territory, "United States of Eurasia" offers a piano-and-strings opening with a very ELO feel ("Can't Get It Out of My Head").
Unlike the Queen hit, however, "Eurasia" ends with more of a whimper than a bang; at the 3:46 mark, the song ends, and Bellamy plays more than two minutes of a Chopin "Nocturne."
Two minutes is not long, but there seems no rationale for the Chopin quote here. Unfortunately, this classical sidetrack is a preview of weaknesses to come in the album's closing tracks.
Classical Gas
Problems occur in what must be considered the disc's "Side B," which includes "I Belong to You" and the three-part "Exogenesis Symphony." Had this been a double-LP release back in the day, these four tracks would have been perfectly satisfactory as a second album accompanying a song-filled first disc. As almost half of a single CD, however, they feel occasionally like filler.
"I Belong to You" begins as a mid-tempo pop song with an unexpectedly smile-inducing arrangement, sort of like a Muse-meets-Supertramp romp. Had it been left like this, it would have been a jaunty song with heartfelt lyrics that fit perfectly with everything else here.
Around the 2:20 mark, however, it devolves into something else altogether: an inexplicable piano/vocal rendition of the French song "Mon Coeur S'oeuvre a ta Voix." Yes, it breaks out of that fairly quickly. And, yes, the song ultimately returns to the original flavor of "I Belong to You." But the French section stops the song dead.
The three-part "Exogensis Symphony," the final 12-and-a-half minutes of the disc, begins promisingly, calling to mind the drama and promise of ELO's Eldorado. "Part 1 (Overture)" is a fitting, atmospheric opener.
"Part 2 (Cross-Pollination" is less successful. After a full minute of orchestral dawdling, a slow vocal-driven ballad begins. The melody is nice enough, but, really, it sounds like half-a-dozen other Muse songs. That verdict is unchanged when, after another minute, the song expands into fuller, louder instrumentation that doesn't even last a minute. The closing minute is a return to a vocal-less, orchestral arrangement.
It would be different if the orchestral and piano passages here introduced themes and melodies that were strong enough and interesting enough to stand on their own. That isn't the case. When instrumental passages merely duplicate the central melodies - or, worse, just sound like musicians killing time - listener interest can quickly wane.
What could have been just a good, short song becomes nearly four minutes that seem more like 10.
And that's unfortunate. Because "Part 3 (Redemption)" begins as a tender, instrumental lullaby that moves and grows over the next two minutes. Listeners will want to really savor these moments. But it's difficult to appreciate this interlude fully after enduring the too-long-with-nothing-happening boredom of "Part 2." By this point, we just want them to get on with it.
And yet they don't.
As if to fully knock the wind from our sails, "Part 3" ends with a strong dramatic flourish about a full minute before the music actually stops; there is an extended instrumental coda for the album's final minute that seems to say, "Everybody back in their seats! You can't leave yet!"
For Muse Fans
Fans will hardly need to be encouraged to buy this disc; chances are, it was on their shelves or their iPods the day it was released.
Unfortunately, it is not the best introduction to the band for newcomers. While some of the songs on The Resistance are the most accessible things Muse has released to date, the disc is hampered by too many extended passages that seem beside the point, adding nothing to the overarching lyrical themes or musicality of the disc. As a result, their inclusion diminishes the many strengths of the album, making the whole seem less than its parts. (Newcomers or the curious are advised to choose Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations instead.)
For singles buyers, this reviewer recommends the following tracks:
- "Uprising"
- "Resistance"
- "Undisclosed Desires"
- "Guiding Light"
- "Unnatural Selection"
- "MK Ultra"
* * *
Interested in contemporary music? Read reviews of recent releases from Anjulie and Imogen Heap.
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