Soundbites: Muse

Muse “Black Holes and Revelations” Warner Bros.
Records 2.5 paws

Muse is one of the few bands that fans love and detractors hate
for the same reason. The band is known for its bombastic live
shows, with frontman Matt Bellamy attacking his instruments in the
band’s extravagant stage set-up with the arrogant flair of
what ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons would call an
“I’m-Keith-Hernandez moment.” Not much has
changed on the group’s latest, “Black Holes and
Revelations.” The album is more of what listeners expect and
is a classic case of a record not likely to change anyone’s
opinion. “Black Holes and Revelations” is the latest
album to perpetuate one of the compact disc era’s more
unfortunate consequences. The album is front-loaded, with its best
songs coming in its first half and the rest trailing off. Opening
with “Take a Bow,” a prototypical first track,
Bellamy’s penchant for excess comes to the forefront, with a
chorus declaring that “You will burn in hell.”
It’s very easy to see this song opening a show, as it does an
adequate job of building anticipation. This is followed by
“Starlight,” one of the most outrageous emo songs ever
recorded. It’s worth noting here that I have run out of
synonyms for “over-the-top.” Muse have officially
broken Roget’s Thesaurus. “Starlight” contains
Bellamy’s trademark piano playing, with a sweet melody
backing his emotional pleas. “Supermassive Black Hole”
follows, with its chorus almost muttered behind chunky,
electronic-sounding guitars. The track is the beneficiary of a
danceable beat and is actually quite fun to listen to (even though
it, like many Muse songs, can prove draining). From this point, the
album falls off quite a bit. Many of the songs, while not bad,
aren’t really much more than filler. “Map of the
Problematique” develops little beyond typical Muse melodies
and harmonies (heavy distortion mixed with electronic beats and
Bellamy wails ““ it’s almost a science), while
“Soldier’s Poem” is a slower track that’s
over way too soon and doesn’t pack the emotional punch of
“Endlessly” from the band’s previous album
“Absolution.” Also worth mentioning is just how much
“Assassin” resembles that album’s
“Stockholm Syndrome.” The guitar riffs and harmonies
are nearly identical. One would think that in three years, the band
could come up with something that sounds different. In spite of the
formulaic sameness of many of the songs, “City of
Delusion” ends up working even though it seems like
we’ve heard it dozens of times before. Album closer and
single “Knights of Cydonia” breaks the hyperbolic scale
like a thermometer in July’s San Fernando Valley heat.
It’s essentially a collection of loud guitar riffs, sounds of
horses galloping to battle and Bellamy’s vocal-filtered cries
of “No one’s gonna take me alive!” With an album
that delivers more of the same, not many detractors will be
convinced to take Muse seriously, either. ““ Mark
Humphrey

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