By 2001 when MUSE released this their second album, the music press had been through at least ten years of drastic downsizing. This meant that what was left were the dregs, as anyone with any real intelligence would have bailed out for more promising occupations like dentistry, telesales, or English teaching. So, it's not surprising that the worthless rabble that was left over acclaimed Muse as "the next big thing" and gushed all over this album at the time.
The fact is that it's a pompous, self-important, aurally tedious chore to listen to this now, so why the mismatch?
Viewed through one pair of goggles, it looks big and important and kind of intellectual, referencing some scientific crap by physicist Michio Kaku. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not making a judgement about Kaku's physics, which may or may not be brilliant or whatever, I'm just saying that as material for a rock album by a midwit lyricist it sucks.)
Anyway, for music journalists hanging onto a dying profession in 2001, Muse could well have looked like a band of importance to nail their colours to.
Viewed through one pair of goggles, it looks big and important and kind of intellectual, referencing some scientific crap by physicist Michio Kaku. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not making a judgement about Kaku's physics, which may or may not be brilliant or whatever, I'm just saying that as material for a rock album by a midwit lyricist it sucks.)
Anyway, for music journalists hanging onto a dying profession in 2001, Muse could well have looked like a band of importance to nail their colours to.
The pummelling quality off much of the music, it's apparent "technical virtuosity" and cod-operatic flourishes -- which to me just makes it sound too busy and irritating -- would have also been points in its favour, hence the gushy, try-hard album reviews. On the back of all this, I'm sure lot of people rushed out and bought it, only to leave it collecting dust on their shelves.
The best track is probably "Plug in Baby," where Chris Wolstenholme's meaty bass occasionally crawls out from under all the other frenetic shit. But this track, like every track on the album, is marred, smeared, and excoriated by the insufferable, wailing, woe-is-me singing style of conspiracy theorist Matt Bellamy, who sounds like a more amped up, and therefore much more irritating, Thom Yorke.
At least Alex Jones was entertaining!
Grade D
The best track is probably "Plug in Baby," where Chris Wolstenholme's meaty bass occasionally crawls out from under all the other frenetic shit. But this track, like every track on the album, is marred, smeared, and excoriated by the insufferable, wailing, woe-is-me singing style of conspiracy theorist Matt Bellamy, who sounds like a more amped up, and therefore much more irritating, Thom Yorke.
At least Alex Jones was entertaining!
Grade D
Colin Liddell
Revenge of Riff Raff
26th February, 2024
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