Muse - Simulation Theory

Muse
Simulation Theory
2018
Spotify

The lengths that Muse are willing ot go for their music are at times staggering. They operate on this different wavelength where layers become king and the more layers the better things are. That's their approach, or has been recently driving home the idea that more is more. Simulation Theory is the first time the boys of Muse have leaned fully into the electronica realm. It was always an aspect of their music, as you could hear the lasers swirling around you whenever they played a song, but now it;s all out 80s as the album cover clearly shows. Songs like "The Dark Side" actually give you some Daft Punk vibes as the blaring synths begin to dominate. This push or layers often drowns any connection you are able to make with the lyrics, and rather than finding a natural balance between electronic and analogue Muse feels like they are just slamming everything together indiscriminately. "Pressure" is a great example because the "rock" parts absolutely cook, the verses and bridges, but when He shifts into the chorus it takes an absolute nose dive. It's almost like Muse have this inability to edit, inability to mine the best of their music and put that out. Instead the band goes all in on an idea and pushes it to it's furthest extent which is incredibly polarizing. Even within songs you find yourself being of two minds, the band want it all ways and most of the time that just doesn't work.

On Drones Muse sought to depict this authoritarian turn in world politics, likely an album ahead of it's time even though the message was a bit odd. Here it again feels like they are making music that we just are not prepared for yet. Their lyrics are often cutting and poignant, but on Simulation Theory they are almost always buried in the mix. You want these words to soar with the anthemic glory that Muse is able to get with Matt Bellamy's tremendous vocal. Some balance would add such a subtle note to these songs, make them feel more like a knife and less like a club. There is also the issue of the "Super Deluxe" version of this record, the only available for streaming. This version has 10 alternate versions of tracks including remixes and a feature by the UCLA marching band on an alternative version of "Pressure". Regardless if these songs are better it makes an already pretty dense record feel even more so. Muse have the ability to make incredible music, we've seen it before. but they also love to confuse and muddle things up. There are moments to like and moments to hate, but that middle ground seems to be almost completely absent.

6.6 out of 10