At this point in their career, Muse are making exactly the kind of music they want to make. So, right off the bat, the whole Radiohead comparison thing? It's redundant. I think we're all starting to get that. Matthew Bellamy is a British man with an extremely flexible vocal range. He likes to combine major and minor chords in pleasing ways, and he likes to rock out. Black Holes and Revelations is probably the least restrained album of 2006, which for some is a blessing, for others a pretentious annoyance. It is, however, a focused album. Muse seems content attempting to craft their perfect record, and within an established formula, they are certainly getting there.
Black Holes flows seamlessly, starting strong with "Take a Bow," my favorite track on the album. It builds around a tense verse of what I'm assuming is anti-Bush sentiment, and releases with enough genuine bombast to last the entire album. Such a dynamic musical discharge only highlights other tracks' comparatively standard pop/rock sensibilities. The choice to follow the proggiest song with the poppiest was a carefully considered one, I'm sure. But it works. Similarly, "Soldiers Poem" breaks up the album's rhythm-heavy middle section with a delicate acoustic number, spiced with a brief passage of Freddie Mercury harmony. The formula is undeniably moving, particularly when stripped of the heavily produced thud of drum and bass. Naysayers will surely hone in on the beefier tracks, and to be fair, being pounded with verse after verse of high-fidelity distortion can become grating, but at the same time you have to question why you're listening to Black Holes and Revelations in the first place. If you came for the melodrama, for the double octave riffs, for what Muse is essentially all about, then you will be thoroughly satisfied. If you had your idea of what Muse could become, or what they should have been, then your listening experience was doomed from the start. Personally, I'm glad these guys are still getting spun. If something as twisted and playful as "Knights of Cydonia" can be a radio hit, then who knows what the casual music consumer is willing to embrace. I'll keep listening.
1. Take A Bow
2. Starlight
3. Supermassive Black Hole
4. Map Of The Problematique
5. Soldier's Poem
6. Invincible
7. Assassin
8. Exo-Politics
9. City Of Delusion
10. Hoodoo
11. Knights Of Cydonia