Muse's latest is ‘self-indulgent'

Muse's latest album, "The Resistance" (2009), is unabashedly epic, from the acid-trip-through-space cover artwork to the lush orchestration of its songs. The fifth studio album from the British arena rockers, "The Resistance" is immaculately polished and satisfyingly grandiose, delivering a great visceral kick. Aesthetics aside, however, the songwriting is a problematic combination of the derivative and self-important (references to Orwell, "panspermia" and Romantic-era composers pepper the liner notes).

Although ambitious and well-executed, "The Resistance" is, overall, an unimpressive and rather stagnant release.

The biggest problem is what could be called the "Muse Formula," the basic sonic structure to which most Muse songs subscribe. Put simply, the Muse Formula involves Romantic-style chord progressions, a dance-y beat, heavy bass and huge choruses. This structure made earlier singles like "Time Is Running Out" from 2003's "Absolution" massive hits, but now, two albums later, the formula has become rather trite.

Lead singer and guitarist Matthew Bellamy sings like the bastard child of Freddie Mercury and Thom Yorke a combination of operatic and ethereal that suits Muse's grand-scale songwriting, best described as "Queen in space." On many tracks, particularly the first single "Uprising," Bellamy layers his voice many times over, creating the thick choral harmonies that were Queen's trademark. On the sprawling "United States of Eurasia / Collateral Damage," the vocal arrangement so well approximates that other English group that for a moment I thought I was listening to "We Are the Champions."

Treading into Queen's territory is an ambitious undertaking, and while this latest release has the pomp and theatricality (as well as some of the sonic cues) to be passable, it lacks one very important element: fun. Queen's music is shot through with a sense of camp even when it's self-indulgent. Muse's sense of self-importance on "The Resistance" comes across as highly overwrought.

Perhaps the most obvious example of this self-importance is the references to and quotations of classical music inserted into the tracks, including Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9 No. 2 and Saint-Saens's "Mon cur s'ouvre ta voix" from "Samson & Delilah."

The use of Chopin's Nocturne, in particular, is both cliche and inelegant tacked unceremoniously onto the end of "United States of Eurasia." It cheapens both Chopin's music and the integrity of Muse's songwriting, and with this kind of self-aggrandizing, it's difficult to take the album all that seriously.

There are times where Muse breaks out of its Formula and "Queen in space" sound and offers some of the more enjoyable musical moments on the album. The pre-chorus of "Resistance" is bouncy and rather understated, almost post-punk, and creates a very unexpected change in mood. Though the main beat behind "Undisclosed Desires" sounds jarringly like a slightly modified take on Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous," the song achieves a kind of low-key Depeche Mode-style groove by the chorus in great contrast with the soaring "Uprising" or the heavy-handed "United States of Eurasia."

These gripes aside, "The Resistance" is still a good listen highly dramatic, well-played and expertly mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent, the audio engineer behind releases by groups as diverse as Dave Matthews, the Spice Girls and Bjork. The choruses, as always, are catchy and almost absurdly epic shot through with enough reverb to make the vocals sound like they were recorded in the Astrodome. The album, however, is certainly not the grand musical statement it seems Muse was aiming for. If you already enjoy Muse, this album will not disappoint, but for those searching for a transcendental musical experience, look elsewhere.