Muse - Absolution

Muse, Absolution

Having recently gone off "rock" music quite a bit in favour of more "downtempo/trip-hop" stuff and going back to my classical collection I was blown away by this album.

I have the first Muse album (Showbiz) and remember liking it a lot but haven't listened to it for ages. It was basically lot of nice Radiohead ripoffs (pre-'experimental' Radiohead that is ). I got their second album "Origin of Symmetry" and didn't like it much. Nothing like as good as the first and, from what I remember (also haven't listened to it in ages) it was just far too "hard rock" for my liking. So, given all that I wasn't about to buy their latest offering "Absolution". However, a friend of mine got it and was playing it in the car the other day (I not knowing what it was). "This is f*cking excellent - what the hell is it?" was my reaction! Yesterday I went and bought it and I've been listening to it ever since

Sure, it's still massively Radiohead influenced. Their sound is so similar to Radiohead it's quite uncanny. However, with this album the sound is significantly evolved and what you might imagine Radiohead would have done if they hadn't gone all experimental and electronic. However, there are influences of Queen and Pink Floyd aswell and, whilst sounding similar to Radiohead (Matthew Bellamy's vocals are quite eerily similar to Thom Yorke's) they definitely have their own sound now.

The sheer scale of the album is something quite rare these days, and there's really great use of full on orchestral strings and a lot of classical piano. In "Butterflies and Hurricanes" there's an interlude that sounds like it could have been ripped straight from a Rachmaninov Piano Concerto - I love it.

I won't go through making a comment on every track (I don't have time to do it properly) but the last track "Ruled by Secrecy", curiously, given the "pre Kid A" Radiohead influences has some very "Kid A" style chromatic harmonies...

In summary, if you like Radiohead, Muse's first album or just grand 70s style, intelligent rock music you will love this album. Without wanting to say the music is like Queen (it isn't), if "Bohemian Rhapsody" were an album, this would be it. Hope that makes sense

Michael

 

Good to hear they've come out with a good album at long last, I wasn't overly keen on the first album, although I suspect that may be partly due to having seen them play those songs loads of times as they are from down my way and used to play in the Cavern (our local alternative music venue) quite a lot, and we used to go there for post pub drinks and just see whatever band was on. They used to be quite a hard rocking band, a lot more so than the first album suggests certainly.

 

The second album is certainly "hard rocking" and that's what I didn't like so much about it. This one has one pretty "hard" song but it's all bloody brilliant

Michael.

 

Might have to give this one a spin, despite spending £81 yesterday at play.com (incidentally completing my Nitin Sawhney collection...)

 

Have any of you heard hullabaloo

GAZZ

 

Never heard of hulaabaloo...

Isaac - congrats, I recently compelted my Nitin collection aswell. Now have them all. I like them all allthough the latest "Human" is bordering on being too commercial for me. I like "Migration" and "Displacing the Priest" a hell of a lot. "Beyond Skin" still my fave though.

Michael.

 

You must listen to it, i think it is there best cd.

GAZZ

 

Not too keen on the new Muse album .

Origin of Symmetry is my fav. out of all their releases. The g/f loves them so I don't need to buy the cd's . Hullabloo is actually quite good given that it's just some b-sides/studio cuts and a live CD.

Absolution is just toooooooo 'Muse' for my liking . As good as some of their songs are they just seem to be stuck in the same gear .

A great live band for anyone considering going to see them .

 

Just ordered from Amazon this on the strength of your comments. I hope its a good 'un

 

Well, it turned up from Amazon and I have played it a few times - and I absolutely hate it It's really not my cup of tea at all - even though I like Radiohead. Maybe my tastes have changed.

Anybody want to buy a pristine copy?

Robbo

 

Sorry to hear that Robbo - better not follow my recommendations in the future

You should be able to flog it on eBay.

Michael.

 

£5 + p+p?


NB Michael, u should get a copy of this months Q magazine (with free CD). Check out Mars Volta. They out Muse Muse IMHO.

I always get these ''best of 2003'' freebies once a year to see what Ive missed.

Kings of Leon are obviously worth getting too (didnt like it on 1st listen but... changed my mind!)
As is Johnny Cash American IV of course, but I knew that!!!
Ryan Adams new one sounds .... not as good as his debut but still good.

Chris

 

I agree totally with the Rachmaninov comment. Is it actually a bit of one of his piano concertos?

Not being a knowledgable Muse fan...does the keyboard player actually play that himself? Very impressed.

Excellent album - speaking as a Radiohead 'OK Computer ' era fan.

 

When I first heard it I thought that at least part of that "interlude" in "Butterflies and Hurricanes" was ripped straight from Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto but on hearing it a few more times, it isn't. It's just someting very similar in the same style, don't know if Muse wrote it themselves or had someone else do it.

I think they wrote it themselves and I think that all the piano bits are played by their keyboard player aswell.

Michael.

 

I have heard the other 3 albums by muse and didnt think that much of them tbh, there latest album i've heard about 2 or 3 songs from and liked, which is why I ordered it last night from play.com.


Isaac: I think i'm gonna have to follow suit with you on the nitin Collection, and a load more CD's cos I just a christmas bonus .

 

Well, I went out and bought this:

http://www.themarsvolta.com/index_main.html

Mars Volta: De-Loused in the comatorium

Great name eh?

Their influences are said to include King Crimson, Black Flag, Led Zepplin, Early Floyd.
You can definately hear all of the above in them, along with... god knows, whatever they feel like chucking in.. a bit of samba, moricone-style guitar riffs, its like a melting pot of cool.

I can say that I think Lee, Julian and Hippy would probably all love it. Maybe Leonard and Mo also!

In fact if youre not scared of a bit of adventurous prog, and you like 1/2 of the above bands then you should probably get down to HMV who have it for 9.99 in their sale, or Amazon.

Just.... expect to play it about 10 times before really really liking it.

Ive cut and pasted somebody elses review from Amazon. Hope they dont mind.

Look, if you like what Ive said so far, go out and buy it, love it, and then buy me a pint !

Chris


''Wow! Here's another CD that will make it in the Top 10 CDs of 2003. The Mars Volta are an offspring of the defunct At The Drive-In. "Deloused in the Comatorium" takes Rock a step further, mixing Punk's rawness (guitars, drums) with Prog Rock's virtuosity and urge for adventure (mellotron, sound effects), then effortlessly adding Latin (! Drunkship of Lanterns, Ciatriz ESP) and Dub/Electronica influences. For someone like me who doesn't usually listen to heavy Rock and never to Punk, the permanent attacks of “Marsian voltage†are disquieting, to say the least; however, the album may be intended that way as the lyrics suggest, and somehow the madness makes sense. The lyrics sound like the desperate hallucinations of a suicidal yet highly gifted youth; it will take time to really grasp them for the music is so addictive and demanding, it demands attention first. The songs are mostly long and there the fierceness abades at times. Those are moments of aching beauty, but before you can give in to those hallucinatory islands of quiet, the mad Circus moves on. Virtuoso Singer Cedric Bixler has an immediately recognizable voice, he masters the perpetual shifts in rhythm, pitch and volume with ease. Mind you, when he shouts, Cedric does sound a bit like Björk (just the timbre, not the hysteria, yet I do hope I'll stop noticing). Also notable is the unique guitar work by Omar Rodriguez (Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)). It's useless to point out tracks as the entire CD is one tour-de-force. In the world of Rock, "Deloused in the Comatorium" is a landmark album. Together with Porcupine Tree and Radiohead, The Mars Volta belong to the best of what Rock has to offer these days, and they are proof that the music is still very much alive. ''

 

I've been playing this album for a fews months and although i disagree slightly with Bottleneck (I loved it the first time ) I can concur that after a few listens it takes on new dimensions.

Certainly one of my Albums of the Year .

PS> the track "Drunkship of Lanterns" is quite stunning !

 

I've only just 'got into' Muse after a last minute trip to see them at Wembley recently, having not heard anything previously (that I'd have remembered, anyway).

Usual Wembley gig - loud, impossible to hear anything, but rocks like a rocking thing. Lead guy obviously has loads of talent.

In fact the whole band were superbly tight.

On the basis of that I bought the first two albums, which are both great, but in different ways.

I've just been lent the Hullabaloo DVD, which is REALLY good, as you get to hear them live, but actually make out the words etc

Absolution is on my Christmas list, so more on that later, I've enjoyed the single though.

Andy.

 

Right, guys' I had the 'fortune ' to here this 'Band of the year/album of the year' this afternoon, I'll get shot for this, but what overhyped bollox, pure noise, thrash orintated phsydo arty, latest fad dirty style 'clever boy recording technique' and cute piano at the end of track 10 Sorry, I just don't get it, and do say it's an age thing either, because the customers I was listening at, is 54 and a lady (for real), she rates its as THE album of last year.
Is it clever ?, or just a con ?, can't answer that, although Ju & Chris we here yesterday & we were discussing this 'Genre' of rock, yesterday, the dirty, feedback induced, clever effect style thrash/punk/trash rock, The white strips I can do, the odd bit of portished ok, but this to me is pure tosh, maybe I'm not into 'the sence man' , so what do you guys recommend, to ease me to kick off with then? T.

 

Tone

Well, it's obviously not an age thing

Having got the new album courtesy of Mr. Xmas, I wouldn't rate it as being up there with either Origin of Symmetry, or Showbiz. I can't pick between either of these, as they are both good, but with a different feel.

To see if you are beyond help though, I highly reccomend the Hullaballo DVD, if that doesn't get you groovin' away it must be you (or your system) <joke>



Andy.