If Radiohead was the closest kin to Muse in the past, on The Resistance its Queen from which the band appears to now be drawing the most inspiration, pushing its sound to even headier epic heights. As big as their sound was on 2006's Black Holes and Revelations, they set the bombastic bar even higher here, expanding their gothic rock scope to encompass many classical elements, as well as more contemporary ones."Uprising," the first single, is a fairly conventional blend of Muse's usual foreboding sound with an upbeat rhythm arrangement, not too dissimilar from Black Holes single "Starlight." "Resistance" is somewhat similar, although with a prominent piano melody. Both are good songs, but more interesting is "Undisclosed Desires," which unexpectedly takes its rhythm arrangement from contemporary pop/R&B and blends it with a lovely synth-based tune (think late '90s Timbaland meets Depeche Mode). This is my favorite of the album's more conventional songs.
"United States of Eurasia/Collateral Damage" is the first song to incorporate an obvious classical element--an excerpt from Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat Major Opus 9 Number 2. In a nod to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," the song is composed of distinct and varied movements. The first section is sweet piano, strings and vocals; the second brings in the band for a louder guitar and drums rock sound; and then the third gives us the classical Chopin piano piece. "Guiding Light" snaps us back to the present with a dramatic stadium-rock beat over prominent synths and soaring guitar riffs.
The next few songs are the album's least interesting. "Unnatural Selection" puts its focus on its guitar melody more so than any other track. "MK Ultra" is also guitar-based rock, while "I Belong to You/Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" is a two-part song consisting of a piano-based, over-the-top segment with self-referential lyrics ("You are my muse") and a second part in French.
The album concludes with a big finish though, the three-part classical/rock composition "Exogenesis." According to the band, the piece is inspired by Rachmaninov, Chopin, Richard Strauss and Pink Floyd, and tells the story of how humanity, realizing its imminent demise, sends astronauts into space to find another habitable planet (and they fail). Alright! Part 1, "The Overture," is mostly instrumental and ominous, with a strings-driven melody followed later by electric guitar. Quite gorgeous Part 2, "Cross-Pollination," opens with romantic Rachmaninov-esque piano chords and strings before shifting to piano-backed vocals. This movement explodes about halfway through as the vocal heightens and the drums and guitar swoop in. The romantic piano returns before the transition to Part 3, "Redemption," fnishes the suite with a soft, melancholy piano and strings tune reminiscent of a film score. Once again about halfway through the band pops in full. "Exogenesis" is a surprising and lovely blend of rock and classical styles with long instrumental passages that are quite lovely.
The Resistance continues to showcase Muse as a boundary-pushing band comfortable with sounds contemporary, classic, and now even classical. If it's not quite as grand as Black Holes and Revelations it's because a few of the early tracks are perhaps too similar to that album's style and it sags a bit in the middle. But the creative blending of styles on "Exogenesis" and songs like "Undisclosed Desires" and "United States of Eurasia" make for an ambitious and exciting listen.
Best: Exogenesis, Undisclosed Desires, United States of Eurasia, Uprising, Resistance, Guiding Light
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