Returning to the studio for their fifth album, The Resistance, Muse offers up a set of music that is hard to ignore. Known for their already eclectic fusion of genres, Muse incorporates pop into their latest creation, shifting away from their characteristically slower music in favor of a faster tempo.
To hype up their new album, Muse performed live on Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards with their new single, “Uprising.” Already famous for their live shows, the MTV Video Music Awards performance did not disappoint, as the band motivated a crowd of hundreds to jump to its feet.
And as the first track of The Resistance, “Uprising” displays the creative genius behind Muse as frontman Matthew Bellamy’s captivating falsetto glides over a catchy chorus full of anti-establishment lyrics. A solid single, “Uprising” holds its own among Muse’s other original hits including “Supermassive Black Hole,” “Hysteria” and “Time is Running Out.”
After the conclusion of Project Eurasia, in which parts of the song “United States of Eurasia/ Collateral Damage” were hidden in seven major cities, the single was made available for free download, which added to the excitement for Muse’s new release. Easily the most powerful track on the album, “United States of Eurasia” provides commentary on the war, starting slowly and building up into a crescendo reminiscent of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” With such potent lyrics as “And these wars; they can never be won/ Does anyone know or care how they begun/ They just promise to go on, and on, and on/ But soon we will see there can only be one/ United States/ United States of Eurasia.”
The long-awaited symphony “Exogenesis,” which is comprised of the last three tracks of the album, starts off promising with an intro both captivating and full of classical influence. However, the piece rapidly degenerates into nothing more than a repetitive mix of Bellamy’s vocals and piano. While this is an interesting experiment in the combination of alternative and classical music, Muse took it a little too far. As one track, “Exogenesis” could have been groundbreaking, but when spread out over three, it becomes long and discouraging.
It is only after several listens that The Resistance begins to hold any value. At first, the record seems to be made up of songs that neither flow together nor sound as if they belong to the same artist. With time, the quality of the music does reveal itself, as all the pieces seem to fit into the overarching scheme of the album. However, it doesn’t achieve much more than that, and is instead another experiment from an already revolutionary band.
It is ultimately up to each individual to decide whether Muse’s new direction is worthy or not, but The Resistance, despite having its few gems, leaves much to be desired.
3 stars out of 5.
