[Music] Muse - The 2nd Law

One of my favourite bands ever since I started to listen to music that wasn’t orchestral or on the radio, Muse have somewhat defied categorization and pigeonholing. Almost a spiritual successor to prog-rockers in my mind (which makes me wonder why my Dad doesn’t like them), they’ve never been short of ideas, inventiveness, or character. Nor have they been short on bombast and portentous lyrics, and their work has always been rather bleak and apocalyptic in tone.

Listening to their previous 5 studio albums in order clearly shows the growth in both experience and confidence that the band has undergone. “Showbiz” was a favourite from the start, but has rather been superceded by their more recent work, “Origins of Symmetry” I disliked initially but has since grown on me immensely, whilst “Absolution” sees the band start to experiment with different instruments, styles and sounds, and has a couple of stand-out tracks. “Blackholes and Revelations” was, in my opinion, the height of their power, and the album contains multiple stylistic and tonal shifts between tracks, catchy singles for the radio and mournful, solo-filled numbers for the festivals. It has everything you could possibly want and more. “The Resistance” almost felt like a letdown to me, and I’ve never really managed to get on with it. Despite the obvious technical brilliance, it somehow seemed to be lacking something.

Album cover for "The 2nd Law" (Credit: en.wikipedia.org)

Muse have recently released three new tracks from their upcoming album, "The 2nd Law". The first, 'Survival', was the official song for the London 2012 Olympics, and is the band back to their ‘Knights of Cydonia’ best.  The other two, ‘Madness’ and ‘Unsustainable’, suggest an even more experimental approach that will delve into musical styles hitherto unexplored by the band. ‘Unsustainable’ evoking comparisons to elements of dubstep, and there’s heavy use of electronica, a theme which seems to have evolved and grown alongside the band. The apocalyptic theme to the lyrics is present and correct, and the Matt Bellamy hits the obligatory falsetto at some point with his usual aplomb. All the elements that I’ve come to expect from Muse are there, but it never feels as though they’re just playing by the numbers. Instead I get the impression that they’re trying to defy expectations and do whatever they want to do with their music, for which I applaud them.

All three tracks are at worst average by Muse’s standards, which is to say that they’re really rather good. I can’t wait to hear the full album when it’s released.