One day, in the midst of one of my musical genre-hopping phases, I asked a friend if it would be possible for a band to successfully depart from a trademark sound to a polar opposite. This question was prompted when I read that Muse were big fans of 311. I could barely wrap my mind around that.
What else is possible? Could the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beirut switch musical styles? Could Pearl Jam make an electronic dance album? Could Dave Matthews Band try out nu-metal? I know the suggestions sound preposterous but, if the transition were done masterfully, then what would be the harm? If I like such contrasting bands anyway, then why couldn’t I accept one band that jumped around from style to style?
Genre-hopping music strikes me as such a positive that I am puzzled by why fans react so negatively to the musical evolution of their favorite artists. And my guess is it becomes rather personal, this deviation from the comfort zone. It’s okay to transform into something more polished, more aggressive, or to even exhibit the slightest nuances of experimentation, but any marked revision in sound is usually met with obscenities — and that’s a best-case scenario.
Yes, it’s personal. Fans are loyal to rabid proportions until bands “defy” them.
To a certain extent, I suppose I am the same. Sure, I justify my waning interest in U2 with the argument that their sound has been diluted with commercial drivel, and sure, I pine away for the days of “Bad” and “In God’s Country”. But in the end, it truly boils down to my inability to let go of the past and embrace a new mellow sound. My hang-up, not theirs. I shouldn’t expect them to remain zealous, Pilgrim-garbed rebels forever.
Change makes music grow.
…The initial previews of Muse’s The Resistance elicited the less tolerant reaction from me. It sounded like sing-songy, bombastic showtunes. Seemingly gone was the guitar frenzy of Absolution or the exotic dance sounds of Black Holes and Revelations. It wasn’t the Muse that I knew and loved. I left for my trip to Peru rather crestfallen and held out hope that the 30-second previews on iTunes didn’t do the album justice.
They didn’t.
Like your typical classical pieces, and like typical Muse, the songs are comprised of movements, tempo-shifts, and stylistic changes that aren’t conducive to the mini audio extracts you find on iTunes. Each song must be listened to in its entirety, and even segmenting the album degrades the genius behind it. More piano/synth heavy than previous efforts, this album is majestic, ambitious, operatic and essentially unclassifiable.
Where else could you find a mish-mash of hard rock, classical music, jazz, operatic arias, and…melancholic space rock? Matt often sings about his beliefs of the origins of human existence tied back to genetic modification by aliens. His songs just might prove him right.
Yes, there are the comparisons to Queen, and yes, unfortunately, there will be irritating comparisons to Radiohead (brilliant but different). That aside, “Undisclosed Desires” evokes 80’s synth pop a la Depeche Mode while “Unnatural Selection” recalls the arpeggiated frenzy of “Muscle Museum” until it halts to a sultry guitar swagger.
My favorite track at the moment, “I Belong To You/Mon Coeur S’ouvre A Ta Voix”, dwells somewhere between The Beatles’ “Lady Madonna” and Queen’s “Seaside Rendezvous.” Only better. Jazzy, playful, and groovy, the piano gives way to a delicate French aria that would make Jeff Buckley proud before reverting back to the irresistible tempo and ivory keys.
The aspect of the album that has garnered the most attention, of course, is the 12-min, 3-part symphony – “Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture), Symphony Part 2 (Cross-pollination), Symphony Part 3 (Redemption).” Ranging from haunting vocals to ethereal guitar wails, from soaring crescendos to a classical music celebration, “Exogenesis” is unlike anything I have heard in a while. If you can imagine Muse songs such as “Ruled By Secrecy”, the soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey, Chopin, Pink Floyd, Rachmaninov, and Queen in a single sonic cocktail, then you might have an idea of this song. Absolutely glorious.
…I no longer follow the same musical styles that I did 20 years ago (thank God). Why should I expect a band to remain stagnant? It’s only logical that my beloved artists will have diverse tastes, and it’s only fair that they reflect all their eclectic influences in their music. Most only leak it out in little doses here and there, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if a band were to open up the floodgates of diversity, no?
Muse may have culled ideas from some of the greats – from some of my musical muses – but they shattered all of my expectations. They took a sharp turn somewhere, and I love them even more for it.
I Belong To You/Mon Coeur S’ouvre A Ta Voix
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