Muse - 'Drones' Review

An exciting return to form, or does it just dr-...dro-...oh, forget it.

This euphemistic cover has divided opinion.

I'm glad and more so relieved that it can finally be said that Muse have recently released a genuinely cohesive album, after their last 2 patchwork efforts...well, sort of. There's no shortage of varying styles to be found here. The "cheap arse" (Matt Bellamy's words, but he's not wrong) riffed Psycho (which, as fun as it is, overstays its welcome somewhat) contrasts very strongly with the dare I say Journey-esque Revolt, for example. As does the '80s synth-pop single Dead Inside, with the grandiose scale of quasi-prog penultimate track The Globalist - comfortably the longest song in Muse's impressive arsenal. To round things off, the title track (Drones...duh) almost beggars belief. A cappella cathedral style is the best I can muster to describe it, though Bellamy's vocals are very well suited. It literally sounds hundreds of years old. It's bizarre, but haunting; in a good way. The lack of stylistic consistency makes the aforementioned cohesiveness all the more perplexing, but also rather satisfying. 2009's The Resistance could barely muster any, and 2012 follow up The 2nd Law straight up didn't bother. Being cynical, perhaps it's because most of the tracks here name-drop the album's title. Being equally cynical, perhaps it's because the majority of Drones' tracks are lyrically difficult to distinguish from one another. A little bit of mind control here, a dash of oppression there, and a slice of political angst on the side. Done. Song written. That may be a little harsh; Dead Inside's lyrics represent the first time in a while that a Muse song's lyrics make some fairly decent narrative sense. This narrative is also vaguely present in the bigger picture, as each track acts as a different stage of the theoretical main protagonist's dark story.

The originality of the band has been questioned in recent years, and once more, Bellamy doesn't shy away from his inspirations...and songs he's already written and recorded. Mercy is a fairly forgettable re-tread of their 2006 foot stomper, Starlight, whilst The Globalist has been described by the band as a sequel to 2001 fan favourite Citizen Erased, though comparisons with the final section to United States of Eurasia wouldn't go wide of the mark. There's even a strong vibe of popular B-side In Your World on The Handler - a darkly confident romp, which would fit into Absolution's track-list surprisingly snugly. As for influences outside of themselves, the snarling Defector screams Queen, Reapers bears more than just a light whiff of Van Halen (that intro!), there's a chance you'll ponder Dream Theater while listening to The Globalist (though initially, the imagery may comprise Sweep from The Sooty Show being stepped on), and big ballad The Aftermath strangely (but wonderfully) resembles a Dire Straits number, as sickly as it may end up being. None of these over-step the mark, thankfully...except possibly Revolt, which is infuriatingly infectious with its smart tempo changes, but ultimately cannot hide from the fact that it's way too cheesy, way too easy, and really rather out of place. To some, it will indeed be revolting. (Urgh). I personally take no issue with a band wearing their influences on their sleeve, so long as they're aware that it does detract from their own originality - no matter how original a package it may be amalgamated into.

As ever, Muse are at their best when you don't take them too seriously. The concept album approach has led to the whimsy being toned down slightly, but this goes some way towards plugging the holes found on their previous two records. This time it's one big conspiracy rather than several, which is no less predictable. Muse ain't maturing just yet. I hope I'm not just jumping the gun with this claim, but Drones does not possess an inherently weak track. It's not quite 'all killer, no filler', but at no stage does the album dr-...dro...nope, I still can't bring myself to say it. Mercy and Revolt come closest to spoiling the party though, which admittedly is too close for comfort.

Overall, Muse have managed to arrest their downturn in form by creating an album that certainly doesn't lack both thrilling and beautiful moments. A solid coverage of components ensures that there's a decent chance this could be the Muse album to keep all types and ages of fans at least partially happy - which is no mean feat if you even just glance at related online forums and comment sections. There's sufficient soloing, the bass is often pleasingly prominent in the mix, the drumming's relentless at times, the choruses are better than ever, the songwriting is diverse and melodically excellent, and the falsetto is on point. If nothing else, it's interesting. Drones falls short of capturing the magic of Muse's 2nd, 3rd and 4th albums (what a streak that was), but it's good enough to reignite the hope that next time around they might just strike lucky. It's upsettingly tantalising that 'next time' will likely be situated somewhere in 2018. mind. Yikes. Fans or otherwise should definitely check it out. Even if you don't like it, it's probably good value for a chuckle at points anyway.

7.5/10

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Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS - Review!

Oooooh, how exciting!

So then, it's here at last! Blah blah blah blah blah. I could write for ages about this game, but instead, it'd probably make a hell of a lot more sense to just feature a video review I've already made.

My YouTube account also has a Facebook page! Just click here.

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BenJen - my YouTube adventure!

Once more I find myself posting on here for the first time in a very long while. But this time there is a slightly greater purpose behind the revival...

I'm starting a YouTube channel, called BenJen - which you can find just about...here. It'll focus on gaming in several different forms, though to begin with perhaps you should expect more in the way of obligatory Top 10s and videos on some of the worse games out there - most likely deriving from Nintendo systems. If all goes to plan and I learn the ropes quickly enough, I'll likely begin to diversify a little. Speaking of Top 10s (well, 30s...), my list of favourite Pokémon probably won't be completed on this blog, to make way for a revised list on YouTube. I can't pretend anybody cared anyway, and it's not as though I'd gone very far into it. Alas, this is the beginning of a new era containing many new errors.

Wish me luck!
I'm going to need it...

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Isaac Lister - 'Chambers' Review

Not that I have any sort of audience or readership to reach out to, but I like to inform people of good new music where possible; even if it does hail from Suffolk's primary shit-hole. That's Lowestoft, by the way. That being said, Lowestoft's finest, their biggest claim to fame, their shining light of redemption, is surely The Darkness...so Isaac's got a lot of impressing to do if he wants to usurp the throne. (Isaac, if you're reading this - don't panic.)

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Stylistically, mister Lister (apologies, but I simply cannot resist such an obviously satisfying rhyme) is perhaps most similar to The Black Keys, if I was forced to make a direct comparison to a current band or artist going these days. Quite fitting really, that said duo will be headlining Latitude festival in Isaac's very own Suffolk later this year. But it's not just those guys who are on top of their game. With Chambers, Isaac launches into opener Drop The Ball with a self-assured display of confidence despite the title's suggestions of the opposite. "I'm going great guns", he proclaims - and in all honesty, it's pretty difficult to disagree. I haven't heard a blues/rock voice so raw in a long time. Quite frankly, it's refreshing to hear a singer-songwriter/guitarist with an ounce of individuality these days, because I must admit that I often find myself sighing in reluctant dread when I see a (brave) man plonk himself on stage with just his guitar as foil. I can't be the only one who gets bored easily by this particular thing, which makes me all the more glad to openly admit that there's a lot to be enjoyed on this record. Take your pick of moments, but the riff on Expendable Love must be mentioned as but one example. What makes it even better for us as the listener is that it's so eminently obvious that Lister's enjoying himself; revelling in his passion and craft. What's not so good, then? Admittedly, his voice is perhaps not especially suited to the album's mellower moments, but this is certainly outweighed by just how suited it is to the slightly more raucous and upbeat sections - which happen to constitute the majority of its make-up. Whisking myself back to the mention of The Black Keys as influences, there's more to be found - though certainly never risking plagiarism. It's fair to say I'm speculating, but there's a hint of Gallagher to the vocals, but at certain times I definitely found myself thinking of (bizarrely) Roger Daltrey and even Matt Bellamy. Lyrically, I'd probably highlight the Arctic Monkeys as a fairly influential factor, but it really cannot be stressed enough that this album is entirely original. Also, everything you hear is written and performed by the man himself. Pretty neat.

It'd be foolish for me to sit here and preach about Chambers being album of the year, or anything like that. Ultimately we're talking about an effort from an up and coming artist, rather than a seasoned veteran. However, that's not to take anything away from the record. It's easy to listen to, clearly took great care to create, and maintains a raw feel without simply being recorded roughly. Ignore the sporadic bum notes, a couple of less inspiring tracks and the fact he's from Lowestoft (casual racism is so professional...), this is a really solid little record that'll unfortunately probably never receive the recognition or volume of listens that it deserves. It's probably worth bearing in mind that I gave Arctic Monkeys' world beating AM a 6.5 out of 10 all the way back when I reviewed it. Do the right thing and give it a go: CLICK ME

7/10

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