Muse - Simulation Theory

Muse is the longtime Space Rock and Alternative Rock lead by Matthew Bellamy.  You know these guys by now, they've been around since the late 90's and have in recent years gotten pretty big.  But as many times as I've tried I've never really been into their 1999 debut "Showbiz".  This album just blows by me every time, and even though Bellamy's performances are dramatic and the riffs are fine.  But the choruses would only get bigger and better over time, and they weren't quite there yet. Now, 2001's "Origin Of Symmetry" certainly was a step up.  The band were much more of a unit here and seemed to have a real sense of what they wanted to do. There were some really fantastic riffs and catchier choruses, but I still felt like this album was bloated and needed to be streamlined.  But Muse really kicked it up with 2004's "Absolution".  This was a shredding guitar album at it's finest filled with memorable hooks and a political edge.  Tracks like "Time Is Running Out" and "Stockholm Syndrome" is nothing short of classics, and to me, it just seemed like Muse had a sound and were sticking to it.  And Muse continued to actually churn out some seriously great tunes with 2006's "Black Holes and Revelations".  Tracks like "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Knights Of Cydonia" are modern guitar classics.  But more importantly, as a whole, this album was deep.  Tracks like "Map Of The Problematique" and "Starlight" are genuinely fantastic tracks, even if some of the deeper cuts were cheesy and sometimes goofy.  But still, Muse had a sound and was on top of it.  But with their next album, "The Resistance", Muse's cheesiness won out and just became too much for me.  The singles here are great and are some of Muse's best to date.  But some of these later tracks are just so corny, and almost all had this ridiculously political undertone that made me just want the early days of Muse so much.  And then we have 2012's "The 2nd Law", and how do I put this lightly?  This album fucking sucks.  The groove-heavy riffs are laughable, and Matthew's vocals have just become so corny by this point.  No thank you!  2015's "Drones" definitely showed Muse return to a more guitar-driven sound, which in terms of tracks like "The Handler" worked just fine.  But this album was just so ridiculously paranoid and goofy.  The political undertones and laughable concepts were so incredibly goofy that I just couldn't take the rest of this seriously. Muse used to be so much fun, but this is not anything close to it.  Now, I don't want to get my hopes up, but a few of these singles I've really loved.  They aren't by any means perfect.  But Muse for a few minutes have seemingly dropped all the politics and are just having some fun, and honestly so am I.  Let's chat!

(One of my personal favorites!)

This album starts off with “Algorithm”, and right off the bat, this is actually interesting.  This is by far the most groovy and electronic thing that Muse has touched, PERIOD.  Like, the 80’s Synths are so obvious and basically super cheesy and cheap, and in a really weird wave have sort of a ChillWave feel.  But I’m just so into this right now, and there are some really actually epic moments, especially when those strings come in.  This is all just so simple, and while this may not be the brilliance of an album like “Absolution”.  But Matt’s vocals are haunting and really likable, and while yes there is still a seriously over-the-top feel to it, this doesn’t seem nearly as goofy to me in a strange way.  This is one of the more straightforward tracks of the bunch, but it does wonderfully usher in the sounds of this album.  Then we have “The Dark Side”, and this continues with a whole lot of the same sounds, like also bringing in some big guitar hooks for the party.  My God, some of Matts lyrics here are absolutely laughably cheesy.  But it’s almost in a tasteful way, in a guilty pleasure sort of way.  It’s a way that sort of acknowledges that Matt and company know damn well just how cheesy their sound has become.  No, they’re not trying to be some incredible Rock group, and I like that a LOT.  I love the grooves here that actually get me up and moving, which is something I was NOT expecting at all.  These drums fills are just so muscular, and the complete absurdity of this album so far has been scratching all sorts of itches. I mean, I sort of wish this one was a little catchier, but so far that’s my only complaint.  “Pressure” on the other hand is likable and surprising for an entirely new reason.  I freakin’ love the upbeat and horn-laden grooves of this one, I literally can’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun with Muse.  And this guitar hook is absolutely massive!  And while yes, some of the more high pitched vocals on the chorus I could have done without, just about everything else here really works for me.  But like, where was this sound all of these years?  This is a real testament to just how genuinely fun Muse and Alternative Rock can be in general.  Now, all of these years that Muse has been absolutely dying to shove political undertones down our throats is just so much more aggravating when listening to “Propaganda”.  This is all of that, but it’s done with a sense that Matt isn’t taking himself too seriously.  The result is strangely funky, sleazy and genuinely fucking FUN political tune.  It’s almost frustrating that we’ve had to sit through genuinely awful albums like “The Second Law” and “Drones”.  The acoustic guitar is a great touch, and almost has a 90’s “Odelay”-era Beck vibe, and I seriously can get with that.  Now, I have to admit, this one is cheesy.  Like, this is late-90’s Teen RomCom levels of cheese, which can easily be a turn-off.  But I’m having fun. 

Now, “Break It To Me” is Muse at their grooviest yet, seemingly dropping all of the ridiculous Political vibes for a few.  And honestly, this one doesn’t hit me AS hard.  I do love the groovy guitars and Matthew’s haunting performance, and I wouldn’t say this is a bad tune.  But this one does lack the genuinely catchy vibes of some of the other tracks here, and other tunes have been much more instantaneous.  But there are practically Hip Hop vibes here at some points which are just so wonky that I can’t completely say no to this.  But with tracks like “Something Human” I do start to see some flaws of this album.  Matt’s performance is genuinely heartfelt and I do really love how sweet this one is.  But in an album absolutely dripping with 80’s cliches so big that they become a damn parody of themselves, I just didn’t want to hear a ballad.  Now, this one since I first heard it HAS grown on me a bit, mostly because of how genuinely adorable this one is.  Like, I can’t remember the last time I heard Matt sounding so much with life, if only for a few minutes.  But still, this is a down moment for me.  Now, let’s be real for a second.  At first, I absolutely hated “Thought Contagion”.  I thought it combined everything that I once truly hated about Muse.  But I actually have grown to love this one.  Like, I love the hypnotizing riff, the gigantic group vocals at the chorus, and just everything that’s so genuinely outrageous about this one.  From Matt’s lyrics about being “Bitten by a true believer” and the wonky vocal effects with him at times.  Like, he ends up coming oof all jittery and paranoid as we’ve come to know from Matt’s more recent performances.  But with just how over-the-top and borderline goofy this one is at times, I can just enjoy it for what it is, genuinely fun Rock.  On the other hand, “Get Up and Fight” is once again a very light and breezy tune, which still catches me off guard.  It’s a very smooth track, but in a way, this reminds me of “Something Human”.  If Matt didn’t take himself as serious.  And for our troubles, we’re presented with one of this album’s biggest and most passionate choruses of the album.  Yea, it’s completely over-the-top but Matt’s very cinematic performance makes it so much easier to swallow. 

With “Blockades” decide here to go even more out of control with synths.  This is their most upbeat and intense track of the bunch yet, and I absolutely LOVE how intense these drums are.  Like, I genuinely love how visual and cinematic this is.  And this chorus is just so freakin’ fun between Matt’s very paranoid vocals and the blasts of backing vocals that pop in.  But if I haven’t let this one yet, this entire album is unbearably cheesy at times.  But like the recent success of “Stranger Things”, and everything else 80’s, yea it’s cheap, and Muse knows it.  But call me a sheep for all of this, but I’m having a blast.  Oh boy, but I have no idea what the hell “Dig Down” is supposed to be.  But here we get a super low key and bass heavy slow jam.  But here, I can’t explain it, but Matt’s performance just really bugs me.  This has been an album of him letting go and enjoying himself so much worse, which is seriously a welcome change.  But here I feel like he ends up taking himself way too seriously and believing every ridiculous word he’s saying.   This just isn’t what I want to hear from Muse, and I’m having way too many horrible flashbacks to just how bad some of their last few albums really are.  And honestly, this album’s finale “The Void” is just sort of boring and not nearly as bold as some of the other tunes here.  Like the synths that creep their way through this track are actually pretty cool.  But Matt’s performance here is more confusing than anything.  This track just ends up leading nowhere, and it’s sad because this atmosphere is great. 

Rating: 7.6/10

Give A Listen To: “Algorithm”, “Pressure”, “Thought Contagion”, “Blockades”

Least Favorite Track: “Dig Down”

Genre: Alternative Rock 

Overall Thoughts:  Hey look, if you completely hate this album and everything that Muse has become I get that.  No, trust me, I really do.  But for me, this may not be the genuinely interesting alternative to mainstream Rock that I once loved, but I had a blast with this.  Sure, Matt’s very paranoid performances and focus on building these very political undertones is a lot to swallow, and are genuinely cheesy for most of this album.  But throughout “Simulation Theory” Muse seem to be in a different place entirely, one where they know just how cheesy and corny their music is.  The result is a collection of Synth-driven, completely over-the-top anthems that are so ridiculously goofy at times that they end up becoming guilty pleasures.