1001-albums-a-day
Muse sounds like the lovechild of Radiohead and Coldplay, and as insulting as that might sound, it actually works really well here. All of these songs are well written, well performed, well produced, and honestly make me think of Muse in a different light than I had previously. The biggest issue I have with the album is that there isn't a whole lot of personality throughout. Regardless, the songs are strong enough to largely ignore this fact and just groove/rock out.
Favorite Tracks: "Starlight", "Supermassive Black Holes", "Invincible", "City of Delusion", "Knights of Cydonia", "Glorious"
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thejetplane
Take a Bow - sounds like an intro track
Starlight - sounds like a really good actual first track; the production makes the introductory bass riff and sprawling synth lines hit like a ton of bricks. Matt Bellamy's emotion-heavy performance drives the lyrics of frayed-relationship issues home.
Supermassive Black Hole - i like how the dark synths juxtapose with the cocky whining guitars and vocal performances. there's a lot of different sounds and ideas being toyed with that come together really well.
Map of the Problematique - sports a catchy repetitive motif that's built upon with unique synths, guitar tones, and layering vocal lines. it feels more vibey than the other tracks without the engaging rhythmic and melodic switch-ups.
Soldier's Poem - a stripped-back acoustic piece that isn't long enough to leave much of an impact, but the Beach Boys-esque harmonies are interesting
Invincible - the track only gets interesting during the bridge, with warbling sound effects, wailing guitar lines, and that really cool bass line at the beginning of it; the rest of the song is an unimpressive slow burn.
Assassin - the repetition-heavy nature of the song structures throughout the album start to lose their luster, even though this song still works. the opening lines don't grab as well as earlier tracks like "Starlight" but there's still enough aggression and space-rock inspired sounds to give the song the drive it needs.
Exo-Politics - the track is punchy from the opening drum pattern, topped with haunting theremins and fuzzy, distorted guitars.
City of Delusion - constantly morphing into different sonic palettes, with Spanish guitars and trumpets sprinkled into an epic piece.
Hoodoo - I haven't been clicking with the more ballad-ish tracks so far, but this one works better than the previous. The crescendo near the middle of the track paired with meaningful lyrics creates a decent deep cut for the record.
Knights of Cydonia - Goddamn, this one's good. It's such an epic way to finish the track list with so many interesting qualities, like the piercing acapella section and its overall sense of scope.
Overall, I enjoyed this record a lot more than I thought I would. Most of the deep cuts don't hit as hard as the singles, but the space-rock/prog-rock/alternative-dance sounds sound great with the powerfully unique vocals and staggering musicianship.
BEST TRACKS: Starlight, Supermassive Black Hole, City of Delusion, Knights of Cydonia
WORST TRACKS: Invincible
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