The Muse
After calling yourself Gothic Plague, Fixed Penalty and Rocket Baby Dolls settling on The Muse sounds a bit pedestrian. As school friends in Teignmouth, Devon, Matthew Bellamy (guitar/vocals), Chris Wolstenhome (bass) and Dominic Howard (drums) rolled through the pub circuit under the names listed above developing an Art Rock-meets- Grunge dynamic. A couple indie releases earned the band praise but more importantly led to a CMJ (College Music) showcase in NY. They were signed by Madonna's Maverick label. Interestingly, the Maverick connection resulted in a U.K. deal. Their full-length debut "Showbiz" arrived in '99 and was followed by "Origin Of Symmetry" (available as an "import") two years later. '04 saw the release of "Absolution."
A handful of singles, "Supermassive Black Hole," "Starlight" and "Knights Of Cydonia" came from The Muse's fourth album, released in '06, "Black Holes And Revelations." The group embarked on lengthy tours that included stops at festivals in Europe, Asia and North and South America. Most notable was a headlining spot at the Readings and Leeds Festivals. The group also recorded a live in-studio session logically called "Live From Abbey Road" and landed on Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock.
Next, Bellamy, Howard and Wolstenholme received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Plymouth for their contributions to music. A few months later, they started work on "The Resistance." The lead single, "Uprising," was performed during the '09 MTV Video Music Awards - The Muse's first televised U.S. performance.
"The Resistance" took home the Best Rock Album honor at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
For groups like The Muse, it's not the destination, it's the journey. That allows them to travel a great distance without really going anywhere. The Muse can play bombastic speaker-rattling Rock. It's just getting there that can be a bit difficult. "Absolution" marks a step up for the group. Some critics called it the "best album of the year" (hey, the year was only three months old!). While not stunningly brilliant, it is a very good effort. They get on the Rock plane with "Time Is Running Out" and "Stockholm Syndrome," which features Bellamy's passionate, urgent vocals and an impressively effective falsetto. Then there is the slow, airy yet haunted, "Song For Absolution" and the please-keep-me-from-drowning "Apocalypse Please" that favor The Muse's trademark sound.
"Sunburn" from "Showbiz" is a dramatic piece with Bellamy's vocals and guitar giving the song its edge. But the title track just seems adrift with thoughts thrown out to peg wayward images. What does that mean? Does it matter? The thoughtful fan can contemplate that one.
A bit of advice for groups trying to meld the Radiohead "ponder-this" mode with the Nirvana ethos - lean less on Radiohead and more on Nirvana. The Muse works best when they do just that.
The arty moments of previous albums are downplayed on "Black Holes And Revelations." But The Muse still likes to jump genres.
The riff-driven "Supermassive Black Hole" is far and away the set's premier track. The band executes the Classic Rock motif with an authority and freshness. "Starlight" is '80's brilliant and The Muse pull out the synth for "Knights Of Cydonia." Going back a little further, the surf guitar adds to "Hoodoo's" drama.
"The Resistance" opens with the pounding anthem, "Uprising," and concludes with the affected synth/piano suite, "Exogenesis: Symphony Parts 1, 2 & 3." Suffice to say, the album starts stronger than it concludes. In between, the band that's known for evoking Radiohead at the drop of a hat, does so here, but they also go back to the '70s.
With all due respect to John Deacon (bass) and Roger Taylor (drums), Queen's two signature sounds were Freddie Mercury's layered theatrical vocals and Brian May's stinging guitar. It's odd that of the handful of tracks that possess a Queen imprint only one, "Resistance," combines the two. Still, the Queen touches make their mark. Bellamy can capture Mercury's urgency if not the soaring high notes.
When not channeling Queen, The Muse serves up a pair of appealing pop-oriented mid-tempo tracks, "Unclosed Desires" and "I Belong To You."