The Resistance - Review of Fifth Album by Muse

British modern prog rock band Muse has scored a solid hit with their fifth studio album The Resistance. While some tracks are not quite as great as they could be, the album's piece de resistance "Exogenesis" more than makes up for any tracks that don't pull their weight. Muse is a band well known and loved for their grandiose arena rock, and The Resistance fits the bill nicely. Following is a track by track review of The Resistance, which will hopefully burn up Apple's iTunes store. The album dropped on September 15, 2009 and is one of the current few iTunes LPs being offered - if you buy the entire album, you're treated to artwork, photos, and videos that make up for a satisfying alternative to CD if you're not overly concerned with sound quality. For audiophiles, of course, nothing but DVD audio will do, and to that end you can purchase the 2 disc CD/DVD special edition of The Resistance from Amazon.com complete with "Making Of" documentary (link at the end of the article).

1."Uprising" - First single off the album, and at first listen, not stunning. The bass line steals from Goldfrapp's "Ooh La La"...and is that Dr. Who I hear in the synthesizer riff? But "Uprising" is the introduction and summation of the entire album's theme, that of love in an Orwellian world. As an introduction, it works well. As a single, it's a catchy enough tune.

2. "Resistance" - This is where the music starts to build and I hear more of Muse's signature thumping bass. Sure, lyrics like "Love is our resistance" are incredibly over the top. But I'd expect nothing less from Muse and I'm glad to see them stick to their guns. "Resistance" floats in with beautifully sad synth, then introduces a driving drum and piano interlude that preps us for Bellamy's voice. From there, all elements of percussion, guitar, piano, and vocals combine to create a perfectly balanced tale of forbidden love. It's not quite standard Muse subject matter, but it's done incredibly well.

3. "Undisclosed Desires" - I'm already seeing naysayers proclaim this as the pop flop of the album, but to my mind, this is just not so. It's a natural progression from the previous track. "Resistance" introduced us to the lovers, and "Undisclosed Desires" carries us into the bedchamber. I hear influences here from Depeche Mode with harmonized lyrics over punchy drums and a synthesized landscape. The bravery of trying out sexy pop when your fans expect prog metal is impressive, if nothing else.

4. "United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)" - USoE is a blatant nod to George Orwell's 1984 and suggests that globalization and technology are carrying us closer to totalitarianism. Aside from that heavy rhetoric, it's a glorious song. Starting with a simple piano intro and a string arrangement, the song launches into a "Bohemian Rhapsody" influenced harmony, followed by a majestic and slightly Eqyptian-themed piano bit. Bellamy's vocals and the accompaniment are most definitely imitating Freddy Mercury on USoE. He doesn't have the range or richness that Mercury did, but he seems to know this and keeps the imitation to a minimum. The bombast concludes with a marching rhythm and repetition of "Eurasia" that had me picturing an army marching towards war. We close out the track with a rearrangement of Chopin's "Nocturne E-Flat Major Op. 9 No. 2." and sounds of children playing while a jet flies (or bomb drops) overhead. I could have done without that last bit, as it too closely resembles Pink Floyd's "Blue Sky. "

5. "Guiding Light" - This one brings to mind a national anthem, and not really in a good way. I could easily imagine everyone standing in an arena belting this out. Which is fine, but parts of the song are just weak enough to make it the least well-crafted track on the album. Just when you'd truly expect to hear shattering, majestic vocals, Bellamy for some reason decides to croon softly. Why? We don't know. Next track.

6. "Unnatural Selection" - Hello, Porcupine Tree! I wondered when you'd make an appearance. And a little bit of The Strokes, too! Alright, all done with snarky observations of musical influences. In the context of the album, "Unnatural Selection" is the turning point. Lyrics like "I am hungry for some unrest, I want to push this beyond a peaceful protest, I wanna speak in a language that they'll understand" jerk us out of the love story and into a rebellion against the state. What an excellent song! This is the most driving track on the album yet, and by the end, with Bellamy screaming "I want the truth!" the hair on my arms was standing up.

7. "MK Ultra" - Like Winston and Julia in 1984, the lovers weaken and lose courage against the pressure of the state. It's a solid track that puts me most in mind of Absolution. It's not incredibly brilliant, but it holds its own.

8. "I Belong to You (+Mon Cœur S'ouvre A Ta Voix)" - French cabaret? Clarinet? Muse: I want to stand with you guys on this one, really. I just can't. It doesn't make sense to me at all and is a jarring contrast to the rest of the album. Parts of it are from the opera, Samson and Delilah, written by Camille Saint-Saëns. Unless we're now supposed to be thinking of the French Resistance? I suspect that the band just wanted a chance to show off their chops and do something a little different.

9. "Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 1 (Overture)" - This is the beginning of the epic 3-part piece Exogenesis that I guarantee will be the band's footprint in history. It's all haunting crescendos, unearthly vibralto, with guitar to simply flesh out the piece, and it ends on a sustained note that carries perfectly into the next track.

10. "Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 2 (Cross-pollination)" - Vocals from Part 1 blend seamlessly into beautiful piano work. From there, we're blasted with what I can only call the anthem of the entire album, and then it fades off into piano again. I only wish it were longer.

11. "Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 3 (Redemption)" - Like seeing the face of God. So beautiful it makes you want to weep. And then it ends, quietly, stealing out of the room and leaving a hollow space in the air.

Amazon Link to The Resistance Special Edition CD/DVD

Subculture Lifestyle Muse, The Resistance, and Modern Prog - A Return to Glory