I’m going to keep this short but sweet. Even though Muse didn’t.

The Resistance was never going to be their best album – Origin of Symmetry I imagine will retain that honour. The sheer riffage that Matt Bellamy adroitly conceived from the opening New Born to arguably the greatest cover of Feeling Good since Nina Simone. However, the Resistance moves to new ground to distinguish itselffrom the clear high point of their career. This means full, rich orchestration;  a fantastically broad sound which, in hindsight, is what Muse have needed for so long to satisfy their own style of pretension.

There are no truly memorable riffs (Uprising’s Dr Who rip doesn’t count) and you will find a good deal of padding around track 5. There are disappointments – Guiding Light being a major culprit. Until the rescue found in the three movements of Muse’s first symphony: Exogenesis.  In these tracks I find hope for the future of Muse. Not anger at random political agendas (paranoid much matt?) or a focus on the classic guitar-bass-drums setup but real progress in experimentation and diversity. New sounds, voices and – ultimately – emotions that Muse have barely touched upon before.

This is by no means a damning review – Muse are still one of the great  long-running bands and barely lose quality by having few throw-away tracks and this album is no exception. This album is clearlyone of the must-haves of the year.

12 bananas and some celery

ill write more later – i’m typing anagrams now…..