I remember getting a big kick out of hearing someone tell me a couple years ago that all of Muse's songs sounded the same. Right then and there, I wanted to play for him the hard-rocking "Stockholm Syndrome" followed by the three-piece symphony, "Exogenesis". If, after hearing those songs, the guy still claimed that all of the band's songs sounded alike, I'd kindly suggest that he get his hearing checked.
It's one reason I love the band's music so much - each album and each song within the album is/are its/their own adventure. Perhaps this is why some critics have liked to place labels next to Muse that they are like Radiohead or Queen or even U2.
Singer Matt Bellamy even recently told Rolling Stone magazine, "We are defined by the fact that we can't be defined by anybody."
I think he's right and this is both exciting, yet frustrating for die-hard Muse fans, critics and music fans in general. Let's face it - most people want to know what to expect from a band. They want to be able to define them. When a person hears a band's name, they want to be able to give a brief, yet concise description of their music. Most people favor simplicity over complexity. I can understand this to a certain extent, yet I have greater respect for musicians or artists in general, whom continually try to expand their horizons - experiment and discover their utmost potential. Sometimes these experiments ultimately fail, sure, but I have far greater respect for a band like Muse, who continually tries to expand their musical horizons even at the risk of losing die-hard fans than a band like Nickelback, who doesn't seem to know what "expand" or "experiment" or even "different" means.
In Muse's last album, "The Resistance," the band went for a more epic rock sound than they had ever attempted before, incorporating, among other things, a symphony into the mix during the three-song finale of the disc.
Based on the two plus songs I've heard off the upcoming album, "The 2nd Law," I honestly have no idea what to expect, but know it'll be vastly different from "The Resistance" and all of their other albums as well.
The band released the song, "Survival," in the run-up to the Olympics. It may be one of, if not the most over-the-top Muse song yet and yes, that's saying something. In the end, however, it works. Bellamy's guitar solos are some of his finest in quite some time, as such solos were almost non-existent in "The Resistance".
That brings us to the band's first "official" single off the album - "Madness" - which was released just a couple days ago. I've listened to the song three or four times now and I'm still not certain how I'd grade it. Having heard all of Muse's songs, I can tell it's them from listening to the song, yet it sounds quite different from any of their others. It's difficult to describe. It comes across as a mixture of the following sounds: Prince, George Michael, U2 and Queen. In a way, it sounds like an '80s pop/rock song, with a Muse-twist. Like a lot of Muse songs, it gradually builds until it reaches a great climax/ending. "Madness" starts off quite slow, but gradually builds until Bellamy starts wailing like only he can do and the official "Muse stamp" can be placed on the song.
I wasn't entirely certain what I thought about either "Survival" or "Madness" at first listen, the more I listen to the songs, the more I'm enjoying them and regardless of how different sounding this album is from all the others and of how I haven't the slightest clue what to expect, I'm very much looking forward to October 2nd - the official release date of "The 2nd Law".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq9zhpBweDk
http://www.zimbio.com/Muse/articles/NoZf5OUMbYp/Listen+Muse+Poppy+New+Single+Madness
It's one reason I love the band's music so much - each album and each song within the album is/are its/their own adventure. Perhaps this is why some critics have liked to place labels next to Muse that they are like Radiohead or Queen or even U2.
Singer Matt Bellamy even recently told Rolling Stone magazine, "We are defined by the fact that we can't be defined by anybody."
I think he's right and this is both exciting, yet frustrating for die-hard Muse fans, critics and music fans in general. Let's face it - most people want to know what to expect from a band. They want to be able to define them. When a person hears a band's name, they want to be able to give a brief, yet concise description of their music. Most people favor simplicity over complexity. I can understand this to a certain extent, yet I have greater respect for musicians or artists in general, whom continually try to expand their horizons - experiment and discover their utmost potential. Sometimes these experiments ultimately fail, sure, but I have far greater respect for a band like Muse, who continually tries to expand their musical horizons even at the risk of losing die-hard fans than a band like Nickelback, who doesn't seem to know what "expand" or "experiment" or even "different" means.
In Muse's last album, "The Resistance," the band went for a more epic rock sound than they had ever attempted before, incorporating, among other things, a symphony into the mix during the three-song finale of the disc.
Based on the two plus songs I've heard off the upcoming album, "The 2nd Law," I honestly have no idea what to expect, but know it'll be vastly different from "The Resistance" and all of their other albums as well.
The band released the song, "Survival," in the run-up to the Olympics. It may be one of, if not the most over-the-top Muse song yet and yes, that's saying something. In the end, however, it works. Bellamy's guitar solos are some of his finest in quite some time, as such solos were almost non-existent in "The Resistance".
That brings us to the band's first "official" single off the album - "Madness" - which was released just a couple days ago. I've listened to the song three or four times now and I'm still not certain how I'd grade it. Having heard all of Muse's songs, I can tell it's them from listening to the song, yet it sounds quite different from any of their others. It's difficult to describe. It comes across as a mixture of the following sounds: Prince, George Michael, U2 and Queen. In a way, it sounds like an '80s pop/rock song, with a Muse-twist. Like a lot of Muse songs, it gradually builds until it reaches a great climax/ending. "Madness" starts off quite slow, but gradually builds until Bellamy starts wailing like only he can do and the official "Muse stamp" can be placed on the song.
I wasn't entirely certain what I thought about either "Survival" or "Madness" at first listen, the more I listen to the songs, the more I'm enjoying them and regardless of how different sounding this album is from all the others and of how I haven't the slightest clue what to expect, I'm very much looking forward to October 2nd - the official release date of "The 2nd Law".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq9zhpBweDk
http://www.zimbio.com/Muse/articles/NoZf5OUMbYp/Listen+Muse+Poppy+New+Single+Madness
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