Muse - Undisclosed Desires
I love Muse. It's no secret. Whether you think they're brilliantly bombastic or just pretentious wank, I love them. In recent years Matt Bellamy and his band have made a small reputation for themselves of trying to mix things up a bit by incorporating new genres, styles and sounds into their style. Admittedly, that's a slightly vague and perhaps partially rose-tinted way of looking at it. Many Muse songs sound very 'Musey' - Survival and United States Of Eurasia being prime examples. Mind you, this new 'Musiness' doesn't necessarily reflect their earlier music. Within this 'Musey' space of sound comes the experimentation. Songs such as Supermassive Black Hole and Panic Station offer wildly different noises, whilst still managing to sound altogether 'Musey'. I'm bored of trying to explain it now. Basically, their overall style of music has become a bit of a patchwork... Messy and convoluted in the eyes of many, I love it. Overblown and dumb in the eyes of others, I still love it.
Undisclosed Desires just so happens to be one of a couple of segments of the patchwork that in my opinion effectively fails to feel 'Musey' at all. It also just so happens to be a bit shit. Having seen them perform live twice (Wembley Stadium and Reading Festival 2011), I can also vouch for the fact that it's a pretty shitty live spectacle too. I have reason to believe it was the first Muse track to feature neither guitar nor piano, but don't quote me on that. Why would you anyway? NME ('No More Editing'...honestly, have you read their website recently?) described it as 'like something Timbaland might find down the back of his mixing desk" and it's hard to disagree. The attempted leap forwards just isn't right, and ends up being a substantial lurch in the opposite direction. Not that I even care, for I enjoy this song all the same. Silly shades? Check. Keytar? Check. Hideously syrupy lyrics? Check. Do I like it? Check. Yes. It's too darn catchy for my liking, despite all the overwhelming lameness. Y'know what, maybe I'd just lap up any old tripe that the Devon trio might release. In fact, I do recall once saying that I'd probably purchase the next Muse album on the day of release even if was just a several hour-long recording of Chris Wolstenhome and Dom Howard taking a communal dump. Lovely.
In all seriousness, these guys should just stick to what they know best: over the top space-age orchestral stadium stupidity. Or, alternatively, in the words of Matt Bellamy: "Christian gangsta rap jazz odyssey, some ambient rebellious dubstep and face melting metal flamenco cowboy psychedelia." Yeah, that. I suppose duffers such as Undisclosed Desires are inevitable, but I really don't mind...to the extent that I've now disclosed my desire to have Undisclosed Desires at #25 of my guilty pleasures list. Chortle.
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