Truth be known, despite their pretensious epic prog-rock sounds, I've always had a soft spot for Muse. True, I can never really stomach a full album from the boys, but they can always be guaranteed to come up with something worthwhile, such as the delightful Sunburn or the pumping Stockholm Syndrome.
So of course, whilst I welcome a new Muse album, I'm hardly the kind of person who's eagerly awaiting it. Still, new single Supermassive Black Hole is one of the singles of the year so far. Yes it owes a debt of gratitude to Britney's Do Somethin' and whilst that may upset some people, it actually intrigues me. In one foul swoop Muse show just how idiotic those Radiohead comparisions were - these boys know how to have fun.
Sadly there's nothing quite up to the standard of that on this album, but there are some tunes that come very close. Exo-Politics is driven by bombastic drums and a swirling sci-fi background noise whilst Assassin sounds like the opening soundtrack to a pulsating thriller and is another one, dare I say it, that you could dance to. Map Of The Problematique is even better, with echo's of what the Pet Shop Boys might sound like if they went "prog-rock".
The album has it's mellow moments too; City Of Delusion does sound somewhat like a Radiohead rip-off but Soldier's Poem proves once and for all that behind the bombsatic production values, Muse do have the tunes.
Of course, just to assure us that the over-the-top ridiculousness is still there, the album ends with Knights Of Cydonia, which comes across (thanks to its use of horse galloping sound effects) as the kind of thing you'd hear on a 21st Century John Wayne Cowboy film and ends in a thrilling and nasty guitar breakdown which leaves you breathless for more.
Whether more ardent fans will agree I don't know, but for me this is Muse's most thrilling and complete collection yet.
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