release date: Jul. 3, 2006
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
Track highlights: 2. "Starlight" - 3. "Supermassive Black Hole" - 4. "Map of the Problematique"
4th studio album by Muse. A few good tracks but nothing really great, imho - progressive rock in the alt. rock category is.. just.. not.. my style. I find links back to Yes, King Crimson, Rush, and Camel, and other major bands of the 1970s, which I didn't like then, and don't like now - mostly, it just becomes to symphonic and heavy for my liking. I do find that Muse with this album adds a new interesting dimension to its style. There are moments of art pop and perhaps even post-rock in this sound that I like - especially heard on the finest track, "Map of the Problematique". There are often references to western classical music, and this is something that I find do not work. The opening track "Take a Bow" is one big mix of different sources, and I don't like it much when I suddenly hear Philip Glass so evidently. The track is incoherent to say it mildly - but that's probably just me not understanding the genre. Five singles were released from the album and looking at the singles chart makes me fully come to terms with the fact that it's not really my kind of music as the best faring single is track #3, topping at number #4, which I would hand max 3 / 5 stars. The second best faring single is track #11, "Knights of Cydonia", reaching number #10, a track I wouldn't hand more than 2 / 5 stars, whereas the two least favourable single releases, on the other hand, are the two tracks I find the best: track #2, reaching #21 and track #4, reaching #18 on the singles chart list in the UK. "Starlight" got a lot of radio airplay, and I found it good - initially, but I soon tired of it. Very much like I did with the rest of this international success. The album was nominated the Mercury Prize in 2006, alongside artists such as Richard Hawley and Thom Yorke - the prize was won by The Arctic Monkeys for its album debut. Although, many critics spoke very positively about the album, some were of contrary minds and called some of its tracks ridiculous and the album overblown. And I think, they regard it much like I do.
[ allmusic.com, The Guardian, Spin 4 / 5, NME 4,5 / 5, Q Magazine 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]
