Music : Black Holes and Revelations

Rating: - Better each time you listen to it
Had high expectations for this album after listening to Absolution in a heavy rotation for a while. At first I wasn't loving the album Black Holes and Revelations, but the more I listen to it the better it gets. I have now started to put it into my daily rotation at work to get me through the day. Would really like to see these guys in concert some day. Highly recommend the album.

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Rating: - First rate retro rock
To me this sounds like an updated version of the best of 1970's album based rock. I heard it on the only local station that plays contemporary hard/alternative/metal/good-old rock. The songs flow together, are fast paced and require musicians that can actually play their instruments. They are reminiscent of groups that now exist only in old LP collections.

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Rating: - Is it change, or evolution?
It's always a troubling issue when your "new favorite band" changes their sound. However, this issue is much less troubling than the potential release of carbon copy work based on the tunes that initially endeared them to you. Whether a band can navigate this delicate issue is a testament to their talent and vision. For example, Oasis was never able to recover from the sonic delicatessen that was "What's the Story, Morning Glory?" and despite the greatness of that album, their fame ended up being of the infamous "fifteen-minute" variety. On "Black Holes and Revelations," Muse's made a decisive yet subtle sonic shift, and one that is not as pervasive as some critics would have you think.

Thanks to reviews, I had mentally prepared myself for this possible shift in Muse's sound long before I bought the album. I expected the worst, but in the end, "Black Holes and Revelations" hardly turned out to be the major change of direction that some critics have made it out to be. Admittedly, there is a little more use of the "studio as an instrument," which challenges the "liveness" of the album. "Black Holes" prominently features trumpets, orchestras, and drum machines that confront my visualization of Muse's ability to reproduce these songs in a "power trio" format.

However, this initially unfounded criticism quickly gave way to the indisputable fact of the raw talent and vision of Muse as a whole. The songs on "Black Holes and Revelations" exude the same raw intensity and passion that "Absolution" exhibited. While there is a little more "studio" window dressing, the voices of the musicians in the group are strong and confident. The compelling mix of Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, and Rush that I perceived on "Absolution" is still perceptible, sometimes additionally tempered by a little Prince, Beck, and maybe even more recent work by Adrian Belew.

Admittedly, I get a personal kick out of comparing Rush to Muse, since there really aren't many bands that I can in indulge in doing so. In all honesty, "Rush-ness" is just a small component of their sound, but one that is an old friend of mine. In the case of "Black Holes and Revelations," this element of their sound brings to mind "Power Windows," when Rush began to fully integrate the synthetic nature of the studio in their sound. This perception is undoubtedly influenced by Muse's use of subjectively inspirational text and orchestral sounds on my personal fav "City of Delusion," a tune that reminds me strongly (and nostalgically) of Rush's "Marathon." However, I would stop short of saying that this influence is direct.

The Lowdown: I can't seem to take "Black Holes and Revelations" out of my CD player, no matter how many times I spin it. While it may be a little more overtly political in its lyric approach than its predecessor, it is still a musically strong and relevant statement. It may not quite beat out "Absolution" as my favorite Muse album, but I somehow would feel wrong if I gave it any less than five stars. In fact, it may be my personal "album of the year," a title that is only contested by Mew's "And the Glass Handed Kites," an album that Muse's fans will most likely dig.

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Rating: - AMAZING!!
Muse continues to redefine themselves with each album they produce. This one adds a touch of U2, a pinch of Radiohead, and a dab of Queen to produce a truly unique sound. MUST OWN!

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Rating: - One More Step Up
Harnessing the talent that they have always had yet never fully controled, Muse has taken a giant leap beyond what Black Holes could have been (Absolution Part 2) and created a sound that rock legends would be proud to call their own and belongs uniquely to the trio from Teignmouth. In every track singer/songwriter Bellamy displays his increasing mastery over his falsetto voice in both ending the harsh tones of his earliest years and displaying a range that walks from the highest, most energetic pitches to the lower, more solid part of the register. To compliment his increased vocal talent Bellamy's writing has not only crafted a new world for the listener to explore, but one that has its roots firmly planted in our own. Bassist Wolstenholm and Drummer Howard demonstrate their own learned lessons and apply them effectively to round out a three-piece that plays with more sound than most five-pieces. Built upon are the base lines that made listeners tune into Absolution so that now they bend into everything from hard-rock power lines to tech-disco-stomp foundations. The percussion has found its full meaning on this album with Howard pressing the beat and operating as a real entity instead of just a fill between phrases.

To be honest, Black Holes and Revelations is a tough listen if one approaches looking for Absolution B-sides. But past that, this fourth effort from Muse is straight money.

Recommended: Starlight, Map of the Problematique, City of Delusion