Queen owned the 80s with their anthemic rock that carried the high calibur vocal and instrumental arrangements that could be described as nothing less than “epic”.  Today, we have Muse.  The alt-rock outfit that has stormed the shores of America to bring us the new and improved Queen.  It comes in the form of digitized rock, wild piano accompaniments,  and orchestral backing.  Muse break loose their radio-ready aim and focus more on their craft and music making skills.  There are hooks that will keep you interested from start to end, but it all wraps up with a three part series titled “Exogenisis” which can be described as nothing less than beautiful.  On the more track-by-track side of things, many will have already been exposed to “Uprising”, the first single off the album.  The track acts as one of the most accessible moments of the album and has real radio potential.  With a simplistic dance drum beat and fluid progression, “Uprising” sets the stage for the first half of the album: clever, consistent, and never dull.  It’s like every track has a story arc that depicts some kind of struggle, at least music wise.

“Resistance” carries the torch as the second track and opens the wide-instrument arrangement side of Muse.  On a side note: did anyone else get the feeling like they were hearing part of the Goonies soundtrack?  The opening scene’s music holds some similarities that strike the nostalgia button every time!  Muse hit their most aggressive moment on “Unnatural Selection”, as if it was a continuation of the thought that lead to the monster hit “Knights of Cydonia” from Black Holes and Revelations.  And actually, that’s basically what this album feels like.  Perhaps closing Black Holes with “Knights of Cydonia” was a foreshadow of what was to come.  Perhaps not, but it would have been awesome.  All that to say that this is perhaps one of the better written albums of the recent years, and likely a standout album for 2009.  It’s a must buy for Muse fans, and dips both in the mainstream appeal of Muse’s more recent endeavors and their artistic approach of their earlier work.

Score: 90 (A-)

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