MUSE; THE 2ND LAW
10/10
Bombastic fantastic.
Diverse perfection from the Devonshire gods.
The 2nd
Law is Muse's 6th
studio album, and shows just how far they have come since their first
album Showbiz, more
than a decade ago, from angsty teenagers to a band that have played a
huge part in the evolution of modern prog rock.
The
most striking thing about The 2nd Law is
the way it merges together different styles of music, with a
distinctive Muse spin, through the distinctive vocals (in particular
the falsettos) of Matt Bellamy and the strength of the guitar, bass
and drums in differing combinations. For example, opener Supremacy
wouldn't be out of place in a Bond film with a healthy dose of
dramatic strings alongside a huge riff, while next track Madness
takes a sexy electronic detour with a naughty-bits-a-quiver synth
bassline and wonderfully emotion-filled vocals. Candidate for best
song on the album is Panic Station, the main port in Funk City
– there a awful lot of groove going on here. (Non-disco)
slappa-da-bass, trumpets, crazy guitar and a generally punchy rhythm
that asks you to shake dat ass. Then there's the bombastic brilliance
of Survival, a suitably rousing and over-the-top Olympic theme
song, before diving into a Nero-produced beautiful maelstrom of
swirling synths and bass drops (no dubstep here) in Follow Me,
which feels like the most personal track on T2L – it
contains a sample of the foetal heartbeat of Bellamy's son Bing as a
base rhythm.
Animals is
a concoction of melody with a fairly large riff; it remains almost
haunting for a lot of the song, before picking up at the end, yet
without becoming...raucous (I feel like a grumpy old man, writing the
word 'raucous'), while Explorers
is a quite beautiful piano-led quasi-ballad and Big Freeze
is almost pop like in it's
upbeat echoing guitar and bouncy drums. Then, the most interesting
part of the album unfolds; the two tracks in which bassist and
backing vocalist Chris Wolstenholme takes over on lead vocals for the
first time on a studio album. Chronicling Wolstenholme's long, yet
ultimately successful, battle with alcoholism, Save Me is
deeply personal and rather lovely, showcasing a truly beautiful voice
with matching, twinkling guitar work. Liquid State is
also very personal, but by contrast is awarded Best Riff
– the opening bass is classic Muse, and it is a different style of
song to Save Me insomuch as it's much heavier - but
both do Wolstenholme proud.
And
then, to finish, we have the almost-instrumental almost-dubstep of
Unsustainable, though
done entirely on guitars. Backed by a driving strings rhythm, it's a
fantastic moment when the 'drop' comes in, and the middle section,
with squeaky guitar, powerful bass/drums and the strings once again,
makes for one of the band's best compositions ever. Then, the very
final track Isolated System
carries a haunting guitar/piano harmony through subtle electronic
beats to bring a close to an incredibly diverse and overall excellent
album.
It
really is a remarkable feat, what Muse have achieved. Several years
in the making, musically perfect throughout and so well balanced; it
is superb. It's not decided yet, but given how this has surpassed my
expectations, will be in the running for the best album of 2012.
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