The downfall for most bands with a remarkably talented singer is letting an album focus far too much on said talent. In the case where a singer's voice is so good it can only call to mind names like Thom Yorke, Jimmy Gnecco and Jeff Buckley, the record is usually in imminent peril.
Muse avoids this. The British band's latest release, "Absolution," is a free ride through perfectly placed breath-taking vocals and dark, brooding music that heals as much as it hurts.
Matthew Bellamy's vocals move from wispy to powerful in a way reminiscent of a sprinkle of rain turning into a full-fledged downpour. In "Sing For Absolution," his melody and words could put Richard Simmons in a noose, doomed to sweat to the moldy.
"Our wrongs remain unrectified and our souls won't be exhumed," Bellamy warns.
Pleasant.
The thing is, between his guitar work, Chris Wolstenholme's bass and Dominic Howard's drums, these words come off quite appealing. By the time "Stockholme Syndrome" moves past its driving guitars and into a bold and lush bridge-Bellamy crooning, "this is the last time I'll forget you"-listeners will be sticking stamps on letters to their senators, in desire of the Apocalypse.
The most impressive aspect of Muse, as is the case with fellow Brits Biffy Clyro, is that they are simply three musicians producing one of the most full sounds in music today. On the second to last track, "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist," Bellamy brings the intelligent lyrics and the emotional wreck that is his voice to a climax, playing with the title by singing lines like "It scares the hell out of me and the end is all I can see" and "look through a faithless eye, are you afraid to die?"
Despite the gloomy outlook of his poetry, Bellamy's voice is such a blessing, irony intended, that "Absolution" can make absolutely anyone shake their hips and root for the end.
This comes recommended for fans of Radiohead, Ours and Jeff Buckley.
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
