IN REVIEW: Muse - "Simulation Theory"

Muse have never been shy about their shtick; whereas most bands are content to go about their business and evolve their sound from album to album, Muse often goes for the hard turns. Since rising to prominence worldwide with their third album Absolution fifteen years ago, they've constantly tinkered with their sound, infusing their subsequent albums with Europop (Black Holes and Revelations), symphonic suites (The Resistance), dubstep (The 2nd Law) and full-fledged wartime paranoia (Drones).

Throughout all of it, as ridiculous as the whole thing was getting, Muse presented each of these projects with a seriousness that begged uncertainty about their creative decision making. Was Matt Bellamy really so concerned about drones? Is this the time or place for a 12-minute symphony? Does the world need so much wub-wub accompanying this thinkpiece on thermodynamics?

With their eighth album, it appears as though Muse finally admits just how campy they've become and decided to run with it. Simulation Theory finds the band in full '80s mode and smirking about it, from that absolutely ludicrous album cover to the synths dripping from every nook and cranny. Having said that, there aren't really too many hard turns within the track list, depending on how jarring you find the chopped-up stuttering voice that dominates Propaganda, or the wobbly and exotic melodies on Break it to Me.

Underneath the gloss and the neon, Muse's most beloved touchstones are here; the operatic rock they became known for is present and accounted for on The Dark Side, and if you scale back the synths on this one and Blockades you can hear pretty clear echoes of Absolution. Even the most pop-leaning moments (like Something Human) aren't so far removed from some of their lighter singles like, say, Starlight. When they really go for the big pop moment, the arena-ready Get Up and Fight, it takes off rather than shocks with schmaltz.

The album's biggest letdown is Dig Down, which was released as a single eighteen months ahead of the album and feels dated and comes off as the outsider on Simulation Theory, the older sibling who isn't in on the joke. I get wanting to include the single for the completists, but the album would have been better off with it tacked on as a bonus track; in the penultimate slot, it sort of kills the momentum.

Still, I must admit just how fun Simulation Theory was to listen to. With the fog of pretension lifted somewhat, you can hear Muse enjoying themselves rather than meticulously slogging away at The Most Important Record in the History of Ever. Just listen to a song like Pressure, all high spirits, hand claps and fun riffs; there's no underlying message warning of the dangers of chemtrails, no pointed fingers or wringing hands, just a band banging out a top tune. Likewise, Simulation Theory isn't bogged down by an overwrought concept and doesn't suffer from a wild stylistic detour that nobody asked for. It plays to Muse's strengths and, while it's far from their peak, it is easily my favourite Muse record since Black Holes and Revelations.

November 9, 2018 • Warner Bros.
Highlights Pressure • Thought Contagion • Get Up and Fight