'The Resistance' a disappointment
Eric Ely
Issue date: 10/28/09 Section: Entertainment
"The Resistance," Muse's follow-up album to the 2006 release of "Black Holes and Revelations," has been highly anticipated by fans of the band, and with good reason. "Black Holes" was the band's break through album and the three year wait for the follow up was tough for fans to endure as they were looking forward to hearing how the band, composed of guitarist/vocalist Matt Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard, expanded and evolved their sound.
Unfortunately, for many fans, the wait was in vain. The hype surrounding "The Resistance" was fueling high expectations that the album, for the most part, does not live up to.
The sound of the album is not one that I have come to associate with the band. The majority of the album is much too mainstream for my tastes and is not what I was expecting from the band. The music is based too strongly in generic rock/pop beats and melodies. "The Resistance" is, compared to their previous work, lyrically subpar, which is unfortunate because that had been a strength of all of their earlier albums.
At times Muse seems to be caught between two minds. As mentioned, the album is definitely more mainstream and it seems to be catered to those not familiar with the band. Other times the mixture of typical Muse and Romantic piano show promise of the creativity and adventure Muse is capable of. It seems like the album was made to sell as many copies as possible and if the musical quality was somewhat lacking than that was okay. Instead of making their style of music Muse seems to have made an album that will sell well and cater to the masses.
There are, however, two saving graces found on the album that make the problems with the rest bearable. The first of these is the song "United States of Eurasia/Collateral Damage." The piano plays a strong role in this song as it is based on a Fredric Chopin piece. The mixture of Muse at their best; soft, loud, louder, then soft again and the piano is simply amazing.
Unfortunately, for many fans, the wait was in vain. The hype surrounding "The Resistance" was fueling high expectations that the album, for the most part, does not live up to.
The sound of the album is not one that I have come to associate with the band. The majority of the album is much too mainstream for my tastes and is not what I was expecting from the band. The music is based too strongly in generic rock/pop beats and melodies. "The Resistance" is, compared to their previous work, lyrically subpar, which is unfortunate because that had been a strength of all of their earlier albums.
At times Muse seems to be caught between two minds. As mentioned, the album is definitely more mainstream and it seems to be catered to those not familiar with the band. Other times the mixture of typical Muse and Romantic piano show promise of the creativity and adventure Muse is capable of. It seems like the album was made to sell as many copies as possible and if the musical quality was somewhat lacking than that was okay. Instead of making their style of music Muse seems to have made an album that will sell well and cater to the masses.
There are, however, two saving graces found on the album that make the problems with the rest bearable. The first of these is the song "United States of Eurasia/Collateral Damage." The piano plays a strong role in this song as it is based on a Fredric Chopin piece. The mixture of Muse at their best; soft, loud, louder, then soft again and the piano is simply amazing.
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