Revelations And Resistance: The Music Of Muse

I haven’t been disappointed.

The album starts out strong with three rockin’ tracks: “Uprising,” “Resistance,” and “Undisclosed Desires.” My aforementioned Grimey’s companions and I had trouble getting past these tracks at first they are so good. (They’ve even inspired my fiction writing.) I encourage anyone who listens to soldier through, though, because the whole album is strong. “Unnatural Selections” and “MK Ultra” rock just as hard, and “I Belong to You” has contagious clarinet solos that will be stuck in my head if I ever travel in Europe again. Muse continues to prove their innovation, bringing in organ music and classically-inspired pieces in the home stretch.

The political themes are still there. In fact, I have jokingly referred to Muse as Rage Against the Machine with pianos. They will not force us, goes the chorus of “Uprising,” They will stop degrading us, they will not control us, we will be victorious. Once again, in tracks such as “Resistance,” the personal is political as a hypothetical couple is pitted against repressive forces. Love is our Resistance, they’ll keep use apart and they won’t stop breaking us down.

I’ll admit that the political meaning of Muse songs can be somewhat nebulous. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether they’re singing about specific political goings-on, social conformity, or a fictitious dystopia. (They are apparently into sci-fi.) The love songs might either be of romance or solidarity. In the end, the songs can be taken in any of the above ways, and always resonate on a human level.

I didn’t get to see Muse in concert this last time, but I won’t complain—I’ll just hope to do so again one day! My sister and her husband got to see them open for U2 in Atlanta, which I’m glad of but wish I could have been there.

At any rate, I recommend you check them out, if you haven’t already. If you’re not familiar with them, you may have heard their songs in trailers for Children of Men and Watchmen, or on the soundtracks to Twilight and New Moon. Since their almost accidental formation for a battle of the bands 15 years ago, they have definitely become one of the British things I love.

For more on Muse, please visit the band’s Official Site or MySpace page. They are currently on a world tour to support their new album.

RELATED LINKS:

Origin Of Similarity: Why Muse Is Not Radiohead, Popshifter January/February 2009 issue

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