Permit my chronic snobbery to surface once again when I mention Muse at this point.
Now, don't get me wrong, I really like Muse. Origin of Symmetry is (though most of the band's fanbase is loath to admit it) one of the best prog albums of all time. I admire that they are trying to breathe life into an old, stuffy genre that wasn't going anywhere except its own arse.
But it wasn't prog in the common sense of the word - i.e, singer Matt Bellamy has yet to write a half-hour piccolo-fest about a wizard in a language he made up himself - because it has the blues of "normal" rock still present, which was what the original prog bands of the '70's tried to remove from their music. This is why Absolution, the third album if you don't count live-album-and-B-side-collection Hullaballoo, was so bloody brilliant. It had some big stompy tunes amidst all the weird guitarwork that sets them apart. I defy anyone not to headbang to Stockholm Syndrome and Hysteria.
Which is sort of why their latest opus, Black Holes And Revelations, was, whilst not being a total disappointment, definitely felt a bit below-par.
Take A Bow, the album opener, seemed to be an exercise in weird bleepy noises coming from Matt's guitar and synths. Think Late Of The Pier's debut album compressed into about three minutes. And then through that album away because it is crap.
Starlight was a slightly stiff piano ballad in desperate need of a certain je ne sais quoi, something to set it apart from the legions of other piano ballads cluttering the market. Yes, I'm looking at you, Keane, with your lack of guitars and your ivory keyboards and your tweeds.
Supermasive Black Hole, City Of Delusion and closer Knights Of Cydonia all come under the same heading - lovably strange. SMBH shone, a beacon of dance-pop thunder amidst the dross of that particular genre. COD had a swagger to it that gives credit to the somewhat unsubtle lyrics, like a rock version of Old Labour (the Labour that was actually left of centre). KOC was just epic, custom built for stadiums around the globe, knocking Stockholm Syndrome of the spot of traditional finale. It felt a lot shorter than its six minute length.
Assassin showcased Dom Howard's drumming talent, and Exo-Politics, Map Of The Problematique and Invincible saunter through almost lacksadaisically, despite the heavier guitarwork and basslines. The latter trio seem almost to be extensions of the same song, or at least the same idea - giving a touch more credence to the "ZOMFG MUZE IZ LIEK SOOOO PR0G THEY MUST BEE CRAPPY COS THEYRE GEENSIS!!!1!" response from the uninitiated. Or idiots.
However, Soldier's Poem and Hoodoo (the latter less so) let the album down somewhat, highlighting Matt's weakness as a songwriter - really slow stuff. Shorn of the "traditional" guitar blitz and frenetic bass, Hoodoo seems slightly scared of itself, and suffers. But fear not, as it comes back to Muse's trademark pomp for the latter half. But Soldier's Poem seemed like half-thought-out filler material, and clocking in at about one and a half minutes it probably was.
So not as good as their earlier work, but not nearly the absolute cockslap it could have been - and for an example of new-album cock-up syndrome, look no further than Editors, whose second album was really quite inferior to debut The Back Room.
