REVIEW: Muse - The Resistance

MUSE - THE RESISTANCE
Quick Take: Muse ups the classical influences, but still finds room to rock.

Best Track(s): Guiding Light, Resistance

If you’re listening to the new Muse album “The Resistance,” chances are you’re not a regular Pitchfork reader. In fact if you find yourself enjoying skillful instrumental interplay that adorns the early troika of songs (“Uprising”, “Resistance”, “Undisclosed Desires,”) opening the album, you may in fact be one of the increasingly scarce fans of MUSIC. That’s music as in big bold, multi-tracked guitars, bass lines that scamper from the first frets of E to the heights of G, drums that confound the senses, pianos with endless octaves and strings, STRINGS, STRINGS everywhere. You don’t listen to music for introspective lyrics; in fact you probably don’t even listen to the verses. You’re just in it for those fist pumping choruses, full of we(s) and us(s) and resistance(s) and uprising(s) never break us(s). These are the things you crave in your MUSIC, and fortunately for you, Muse is about to tickle your fancy (if that’s your sort of thing read on.)

If you made it past the first 15 seconds of the opener “Uprising” you will probably be absolutely in love the rest of the album… Actually scratch that, if you were able to look at the track listing and a three part orchestral piece called “Exogenesis: Orchestra” didn’t cause you to either a) vomit or b) stick your fingers in your ears, close your eyes and hum the latest Grizzly Bear album for the next 15 minutes you will probably be absolutely in LOVE with the rest of the album. Muse lives in a black and white world and you’re either with us, or against us.

“The Resistance,” is the fifth studio album from the worlds first and only space-prog-rock-opera-wtf band. If you’re still reading this review, you probably are a Muse fan, otherwise you’d be reading this review on PITCHFORK or ROLLING STONE and you would probably be smirking while reading the slightly derogatory, better than thou review which of course will be giving the album between 2.5 and 3 stars and then flipping (or browsing) to the breaking news that says “omg Pavement is getting back together!...” the 2.5 to 3 stars that is just enough to placate the fans, but not high enough to turn off all the cool kids who hate Muse from thinking that said magazine is losing its edge.

Alright, now that we’ve dispensed with the haters, what’s next? Oh, the music. OK, think of “Black Holes and Revelations,” now blow that up by about 15, ramp up the classical music influences by 10, multiply the insanity of Matt Bellamy by 9.6, end with a three part symphony and ta-da! new Muse. The music itself is impossible to quantify on its own, either you know what Muse sounds like or you don’t. What started as a sort of quasi-Radiohead sound has now fused with Beethoven, Gershwin and Queen and then sautéed with Spinal Tap, these songs go up to 11, (or 12… or 13). Each successive album has increased the intensity, and theatrics. In comparison, "Showbiz" and "Origin of Symmetry" sounds like exhibitions of restraint. Even “Absolution” and “Revelations” had their downtime, a break or two in the insanity and a chance to cleanse your aural palate. No dice here; “The Resistance,” keeps on hitting. It actually can become overwhelming in some places if you try and listen to things individually. In these instances don’t panic, just let the waves of sound pummel you until the song ends.

Uprising begins the album in the album in the usual Muse fashion. A left cross to the face, a synth line that could have been lifted from Nightmare on Elm Street, with a shout along chorus, and a killer bass line. Resistance finds them in their most familiar state of play, a la “Revelations'” Starlight and Invincible. Undisclosed Desires finds them in Depeche Mode territory, with dancing synth lines and a drum machine beat. Guiding Light, the best song on the album builds slowly, with shimmering synths, a killer 3 second guitar solo until it builds up enough emotion for one more breaking chorus. MK Ultra is a driving rock song dressed up with octave jumping synths. The United States of Eurasia, is a song that cannot possibly be described in words, but be prepared for a chorus from an off-Broadway play, a soothing piano solo, echoes of Rush’s 2112 and a instrumental break that sounds like it was lifted from Final Fantasy. As the album progresses the songs get grander, more complicated, culminating in the three part Exogenesis Orchestra. If that wasn’t enough, Bellamy also sings in French.

What binds the songs together throughout the album (besides their extravagance,) is Muse's willingness to sound like nothing else in music, and the incredible dexterity and skill of the three main players. Matthew Bellamy, who handles vocals, guitar and piano may be the most talented triple threat in popular music. He also may be one of the most grandiose and over the top, but he never operates in guitar hero territory, he sticks to indelible production, which adds big shiny lairs of sound to every track. Strings are everywhere, and his guitar takes a backseat to his voice. Bellamy may take most of the credit for the sound but Christopher Wolstenholme’s bass cannot be ignored. Previously it could be heard as the centerpiece for songs like Muscle Museum and Hysteria. For “The Resistance” it occupies a slightly lower place in the mix, but his mix of boogie and drive is still integral to the sound and just sounds awesome on songs like Resistance and MK Ultra. Drummer Dominic Howard tends to get lost in the space opera, but his drumming is the perfect kind of backing for this type of music and propels the music perfectly. He locks in perfectly with Wolsetnholme to add the punishing riffs that bring the band its heavy sound. But when necessary he can provide the funky dance beats (I Belong to You), in the rare time that Muse comes down from their usual dominion in the dark matter.

“The Resistance” is an excellent album from end to end, and although its not quite as revolutionary as “Blackholes and Revelations” or as driving and urgent as “Absolution,” it still represents another step in the evolution the band. It has to be noted that the sound hasn’t strayed too far from the driving bass, neo classical piano and tremolo guitar solo ground work which was laid out on the very first song on their 1999 debut, “Showbiz’s” Sunburn. But while the sound may be technically similar, but “The Resistance” relies on its classical roots over the hard charging rock of their past.

Muse isn’t for everyone, this I fully understand and have accepted. You either like them or you don’t, and the sound isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Because of that I am prepared to offer two completely different ratings: one for the Muse fans, and the other for the assholes that have no idea what good music sounds like and probably listen to Pavement, and are dumb.

Verdict:
(For Muse Fans and Smart Good Looking People): B+
(Pavement and Pitchfork Fans): C-