Muse review for JC Report

http://www.jcreport.com/intelligence/resistance/121009/put-record-muse-offers-another-epic

Put A Record On: Muse Offers Another Epic
October 12th, 2009 | London

Defying the odds, Muse continues to successfully combine the unexpected components of a rock opera and concept album. The British trio's latest effort is The Resistance, an 11-track opus about life, revolt and love in a Big Brother-ruled dystopia.

Singer and chief songwriter Matt Bellamy seems to have spent hours reading George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, while writing this album. The story revolves around the United States of Eurasia, an empire where oppression, injustice and corruption rule: on "MK Ultra" he even sings "How many lies will you create?" But mankind will prevail—and love is the resistance. The first song, "Uprising," sets the tone—and is up there with Muse classics such as "Plug It Baby" and "Starlight"—and together with the title track testifies to Bellamy's undying faith in humanity.

To further prove its status as an avant-garde band, Muse finishes off with "Exogenesis: Symphony," a song in three parts featuring strings, piano melodies and other majestic sounds, cementing Muse as the over-the-top band of the noughts. Luckily, songs such as the brilliant "Undisclosed Desires" take Bellamy and his bandmates back to reality with an r&b intro and powerful chorus. Don't fight the resistance, just go with the flow.

The Resistance is out now, more info at www.myspace.com/muse.

—David Hellqvist