Not everything newer is always better. Muse’s newest album, their fifth, falls short of its predecessors. “The Resistance,” as an album alone, does not disappoint, but it does not offer anything that we have not heard before. If anything, “The Resistance” was a backward step for Muse as the album has both positive and negative aspects, although it is far from a “bad” album.
The album is driven and connected as a whole due to lead singer Matthew Bellamy’s siren-like voice and tight, well-knit song composition. It often sounds as if bassist Christopher Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard have taken a backseat in their roles. “The Resistance” lacks the engaging bass riffs and drum beats that other Muse albums have provided to be a standard of the band. The change may have been a conscious choice by the musicians in an attempt to highlight other aspects of their sound, but the result feels as if the band is missing one of its vital components.
That is not to say that “The Resistance” is not an enjoyable work. The overall construction and pacing of the CD is enjoyable in itself. The songs seem to flow off of each other naturally and each track seems like a piece of an even larger work, which culminates in the final three tracks.
The overall sound of the album differs from past Muse albums in a few major ways. There are times that “The Resistance” sounds like nothing more then an attempt to channel the musical characteristics of Queen, with the track “United States of Eurasia” being a prime example. Yet other tracks such as “Guiding Light” are able to take these allusions to musicians from prior decades and mesh them in complete harmony with Muse’s own distinct style.
Another interesting aspect of the album is the increase of classical motifs and instruments. The new album is more classically tinged then prior Muse albums and in a very different fashion than what they have used before. One of the past appeals of Muse was their ability to blend classically inspired piano pieces with modern, post-grunge alternative rock. This aspect of the band has all but disappeared in an attempt to incorporate more symphonic-minded instrumentations. It is an uneven trade at times due to the sparse manner in which “The Resistance” uses these classical motifs, but Muse makes up for this with the album’s last three classically-inspired tracks.
Oddly enough, it is the constant piano usage within “The Resistance” that creates such obvious similarities to Queen albums. If you are not an avid Muse fan, “The Resistance” still will feel as if it is ripe with classically inspired alternative rock. If this turns out to be an aspect of the album that you enjoy, you should pick up one of the band’s past records.
Muse is not adding much to their substantial repertoire but they have done something that most bands never achieve: saying the same thing in a different way. Many of the aspects that make Muse different then other alternative rock bands are still displayed throughout the course of this album but to a different degree or in a different fashion.
The classical inspiration used so often by Muse in the past is still evident, but it is a different form of classical music. Bellamy’s wail is still coursing through every track but finds a new voice when juxtaposed with the subtle bass and drum work of the other band members. “The Resistance” is a great album for new listeners to become acquainted with Muse. Fans who have been listening to Muse for a years will probably find parts of this album hard to swallow and untrue to what they perceive to be the true nature of the band, but the album deserves to be given a chance and more than one charitable listen.
