Sam Reviews the “The 2nd Law” by Muse
Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy, left, and bassist Chris Wolstenholme perform at the Olympic Stadium inLondon, England, during the Closing Ceremony for the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, Sunday, August 12, 2012.
Hilltop Views Music Critics, Kate and Sam, take their personal music tastes and review the newest albums from established artists in various genres. They each provide their unique points of view in head to head weekly music reviews.
After you have a critical achievement in your career, the first question running through your head after “Did I remember to thank God during the acceptance speech?” is probably “What do I do next?”
You could bask in the success and get sloppy, losing what you had, or retire while you’re ahead.
Or if you are like British rock band Muse, you move forward and improve.
After their 2009 album “The Resistance” took home the Best Rock Album Grammy, the band packed their follow-up, “The 2nd Law,” with more well-crafted songs, progressive rock bombast and a continuation of the heroes-in-the-time of dystopia theme that worked for “The Resistance.”
The biggest prog-rock tendency is to range freely with different genres, and Muse has, in this case, nodded to the electronic music revolution with tracks like “Follow Me,” a ballad that breaks into a dubstep drop at the chorus, and the low-key “Madness.”
But the biggest signature on this album is unfortunately not Muse’s. Nope, a lot of credit for “The 2nd Law” belongs to Queen. The first several tracks are packed with trademarks of Queen’s sound, like the heavily-layered falsetto vocals in “Supremacy” and “Survival,” the whimsical piano that sets off “Survival,” and the groove of “Panic Station” that echoes “Another One Bites the Dust.”
