New Vibrations: Muse

British band Muse's new album, The Resistance, starts off pretty strong with "Uprising," a song reminiscent of the Doctor Who theme. The bridge of the song even sounds like 70s glam rock.

All together, it sounds like something Gary Glitter or Slade might have done after their brains had been eaten by drugs and their minds driven to angry paranoia against all the world.

The second and third songs may or may not be about a love that takes place within the world of George Orwell's 1984.

The second, titled "Resistance," is a bold tune with spirited singing and a bright melody. The phrase "could be wrong" is chanted over this, but when the melody kicks in again, it shatters this doubt and assures that love, indeed, is the answer. Love is more than happiness; love is a weapon (or better, a shield) against oppression's yoke.

The third track, "Undisclosed Desires," is less about love and more about un-brainwashing your significant other and repairing the potential damage to his or her soul.

Perhaps the song is a metaphor for that early stage in some relationships when both parties are convinced that they have it in themselves to change each other for the better. Who can say? What goes on in the mind of Matthew Bellamy is open to debate. It's a pretty song, but a little repetitive.

Next is "United States of Eurasia." The intro to this song is subdued, quiet and not particularly interesting.

Then it opens up with a Queen-style harmony accompanied by Brian May-style guitar, followed by a chord progression that resembles the melody of the theme from Robert Rodriguez's recent splatter flick, Planet Terror.

The rest of the melody (that hasn't been borrowed from Chopin) is less interesting. The lyrics are about as paranoid as Muse lyrics get, which is fairly paranoid by any standards.

It's an interesting song, and one of the first released from the album to stir up consumers' interest, but it doesn't come together very well as a whole. The music doesn't live up to what the lyrics promise.

"Guiding Light" is a song that aims more for a sound than a melody. While it sounds cool the first one or two times, it probably won't get a whole lot of play on its own. It is all drama and style, with no substance.

The lyrics to "Unnatural Selection" are about a person trying to rally his or her allies to rise against oppressive enemies, the "lucky," who have taken more than they should take under a fair and just system.

But the lyrics are often vague and the demands made are unquantifiable. The song becomes a rant in favor of destruction, truth and unrest.

The music is hard and heavy where it needs to be, and the song succeeds where the USE failed.

"I Belong to You" is something special. Muse finally manages to get the feel of a Queen song, without directly ripping off Queen. It's campy, it's bouncy, it's fun, the lyrics are nonsense when you try to think about them and the melody is lovely, blending piano rock with French opera.

The trilogy that closes, the "Exogenesis Symphony," is indescribably beautiful. So describe it I won't. If you can't stand male falsetto, you might not like it as much as this reviewer did.

Ultimately, Muse's new album is repetitive (in both a good and a bad sense) but worth the listen. Here are potential Guitar Hero hits and soundtrack classics.