Music review: Muse, The Resistance

The Resistance is one of the most eclectic and technically proficient rock albums released by a major band this decade. There's a song for every taste -- as long as you have a sense of humor. Throughout the album, Matt Bellamy sings the story of a character familiar to Muse fans (and loathed by Muse's detractors): a rebel fighting for personal freedom and enduring love within the confines of a militarized dictatorship. The first track's anthemic lyrics about "Uprising" say it all: "they will not control us, we will be victorious!" If you can get past the idea that the soaring, pop-y "Resistance" is a love song based on Winston and Julia from George Orwell's 1984, I guarantee that there is something on this album that you will enjoy.

The music runs the gamut from Chopin to post-punk, perhaps too often all in the same song (though most Muse fans dig that). Got a yen for Depeche Mode or David Bowie? Try the slinky and darkly romantic "Undisclosed Desires." Wanna get your prog rock on? Check out the keyboards and Dominic Howard's outstanding drumming on "MK Ultra," a song that feels to me like a new Muse classic. Fans of Green Day, Queen and System of a Down will all enjoy shouting along with Matt ("I want the truth!") on "Unnatural Selection." Another song that quotes Queen chapter, line and verse, "The United States of Eurasia," is essentially Muse to the max, taking to new heights the bombast that we Muse fans crave. Another typical keyboard-heavy Muse rocker is "Uprising," which is driven steadily by Chris Wolstenhome's funky bass licks. The only song on this album that I'm not crazy about is "Guiding Light," a merely adequate power ballad that Matt admits in the liner notes "is influenced by 1980's cheesy stadium rock!" The exclamation point is his.

One thing some critics of Muse tend to forget: they're having fun. They make serious music but don't take themselves too seriously, and neither should we (please, just read the liner notes!) I find it hard to believe that anyone could listen to the French-cabaret-inspired "I Belong to You/Mon cœur s'ouvre à toi voix" and not have fun. There's a bass clarinet solo! Matt singing a snippet from the opera Samson and Delilah! The lyrics sliding slyly away on the phrase "you are my mu..." The only way this song could be more fun is if Adam Lambert did a cover of it! Much has been made of the orchestral components of this album and indeed, usually they are used to ramp up Muse's sound even further over the top than usual, as in "The United States of Eurasia." However, the third part of the "Exogenesis: Symphony (Redemption)" is a successful attempt on Matt Bellamy's part to write a beautiful piece of symphonic music, ending the album on an uncharacteristically gentle message: redemption comes from forgiving ourselves.