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MUSE—'Simulation Theory': The Super Deluxe Review

Algorithms Evolve

By Peter EllisPublished 5 years ago 9 min read
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If you're a friend of mine or indeed have stood anywhere in hearing distance of me, chances are you know I'm a big fan of Muse. They've been my favourite band for nearly a decade and I've enjoyed everything they have put out thus far.

I jumped onto the bandwagon fairly late, with the release of Uprising in the build-up to the release of their fifth album, The Resistance all the way back in 2009. 13-year-old me was fascinated by the "really cool music video with the killer teddy bears" and the rest is history. My family discovered the ONE band we can all agree on.

Looking upon their career as a whole, Muse can be seen as one of the UK's finest rock exports of the century, a band known for their incredible live shows and endless desire to create with a frontman who's energy and magnificent voice are packed into such a small and slight frame.

Their previous album, 2015's Drones, told a very timely story of future, unmanned warfare and the apathy of the users of these machines. In my opinion, despite some outstanding instrumental work, it wasn't their strongest album. It was good, but it felt a bit weak lyrically, and it was just incredibly bleak to think about. Everything from the cover to the videos to the ideology behind it was just grey and murky.

So, in true Muse fashion, 2018's Simulation Theory is almost a complete U-turn. It's like a neon-infused injection of energy straight into your eyes, under the guise of an album about virtual reality and the idea of us all being stuck in some great simulation a la The Matrix.

Pressure Building

Simulation Theory, cover by Kyle Lambert

The vibrant front cover (pictured), designed by Stranger Things artist Kyle Lambert almost completely what to expect from the album. It's rife with 80s pop culture and feels like the band are taking themselves a lot less seriously in comparison to Drones. It's sillier, it's pop-centric and is arguably their most broad and approachable album to date.

That isn't meant as a negative, it is very much a compliment. As much as I love the band, there's always been an air to them, Matt Bellamy in particular, that they are a bit too hard on themselves. In Simulation Theory I see a band that are letting their hair down, so to speak, in order to just create and explore what it is they love.

The opening track, Algorithm, sets the tone brilliantly. A thumping blend of the Stranger Things theme by the way of Tron and Blade Runner. The first half of the song doesn't even have any vocals, focusing entirely on the music. It feels like the opening of an epic science-fiction film, one I'd definitely be pumped to see.

The Dark Side was one of my favourite singles in the build-up to release and remains one of the best songs on the album. It has a glamorous quality to it, the high-pitched synths and pulsating beat make it feel like a continuous oncoming juggernaut of a song. Lyrically it's a polar opposite, dealing with mental illness, depression and the desire to be free from one's own trappings.

Pressure takes on similar lyrical ideas, Matt Bellamy almost seems to be admitting the pressure of all the negativity he faces from critics in the industry and his fan base, and that it does actually get to him. It's easy to overlook as it's infectiously catchy and the video is basically the Eighties condensed into a five-minute video starring Terry Crews in the Least Expected But Most Welcomed Collaboration of the Year. Back to the Future, Gremlins, Critters, Footloose, it's all there and then some. Seriously, check it out here. It's amazing.

The reason I've broken down the first three tracks individually is that I think they're the most consistently strong opening tracks on a Muse album for nearly a decade since The Resistance at the very least. I couldn't even begin to describe Propaganda to you, I lost my head in the first five seconds of it. I still do sometimes, as if I am expecting something else.

Something Human is my mothers' favourite on the album. It focuses more on love and the desire for something more meaningful from life after years away from loved ones. It was the first track written for the album after Drones and it shows as Matt, Chris and Dom would've been yearning to go back to their families after a ridiculous and exhausting tour.

(I was there, it was mental. At one point the big drone that was meant to fly around the o2 broke and then floated and to the crowd, who then surfed it back to where it came from to be fixed. Their knack for flair and visual splendour live is unparalleled.)

Simulation Theory feels like Muse has taken all the lessons they've learned from their two-decade career and used it to spawn a record that they enjoyed creating and feels like a love-child of everything that's come before while also feeling entirely new and relevant.

Pressure and Thought Contagion harken back to the sillier parts of The 2nd Law, well, the whole album does to an extent. Break It To Me, a favourite of mine, in particular, feels like a slight orchestral throwback to the more operatic days of The Resistance through 2018's hip-hop lense. Whereas Get Up And Fight feels like a callback to the so-close-sounding-like-a-musical-it-hurts Revolt from the previous album.

When it released as a standalone single, I dismissed Dig Down as basically Madness 2, which isn't a bad thing, Madness is one of their best songs, but it felt out of place coming off the back of Drones. It finds its place among the other tracks of Simulation Theory. I have since grown to appreciate it more as it makes more sense in context.

The Void is haunting and beautiful, a stunning close to a stellar album. It incorporates more 80s synths and sound effects, this time coupled with a slower, quieter Matt Bellamy who's clearly just having fun at a piano doing his thing.

Lyrically, the album is much stronger than Drones. I think the actual sound is down to personal preference, but I love a lot of electronic music, so it sits very nicely with me. I enjoy bands who always like to change things up. I've always been of the mindset that any film, book, band/singer etc should be able to continue as they see fit, as long as they do it well. In my opinion, Muse has produced not only their best album of the decade but their best album since Absolution, way, way back in 2004.

It's loud, it's ridiculous and feels like every 80s guilty pleasure rolled into one, the main difference here is that it's not an embarrassment to be caught with. Simulation Theory is one of my favourites and I don't care who knows that. It's an entirely new beast from the Devon boys, one that wants to steal you away into an electric fantasy.

They're more self-aware, they know their reputation, and if you love them or hate them, the album probably won't sway you either way. But, having said that, if you're open-minded and a long-time fan, you're in for one hell of a treat.

An Alternate Reality

The Super Deluxe Cover, also by Kyle Lambert

I decided I'd also review the tracks provided on the "Super-Deluxe" version of the album. None of these extra tracks are "new" songs, they're all reworkings of what's on the standard version. Several of which are "Alternate Reality" versions re-recorded by Muse. The AR version of Algorithm, in particular, is great because it feels like every great superhero movie intro soundtrack at once in my face and I'm absolutely here for that. It gives me goosebumps. It's like an orgy of the X-Men and the Avengers theme tunes. I don't think any other description is more appropriate or does it justice.

Some, like the AR Dark Side, are quieter reworkings, highlighting the darker undertones of the lyrics, which I quite like. It gives listeners more of a chance to actually take in what's being said rather than being dazzled by the glitzier standard tracks.

The acoustic tracks are great, the version of The Void is probably one of my favourite acoustics I've ever heard. It sees Matt Bellamy hit some seriously low notes that I've not heard him hit for years, and it is beautiful. Probably more in-line with what casual listeners would want to hear as well if I'm honest, so everyone's a winner!

The Sam De Jong remix of Break It To Me is top quality, I'm very wary of remixes of any Muse track, but it's most certainly a welcome one. It takes the backing violins of the verses in the original and places them front and centre of an EDM breakdown. It's an unusual premise, but certainly worth a listen.

Then there are other things that I didn't know I wanted or needed. An acoustic version of Propaganda? I mean, sure? Of all the tracks to make acoustic, go for it, I guess? Que me losing my head once again.

An acoustic gospel choirversion of Dig Down? What's going on here then? I have no idea why this exists or why Muse included it, but you best believe I'm there ready to sing hallelujah to all that is holy when that chorus hits.

Pressure with the UCLA Bruin Marching Band? Honestly, at this point, I don't even know anymore. There is some solace in the fact that this one, of all things, at least sounds like it makes the most sense. I can definitely see Muse whacking out a marching band on tour, peak Matt Bellamy behaviour, that.

I may sound like I'm slowly losing my mind over these tracks, and I probably have, but I say these things with purely good intentions. The Super Deluxe bonuses enhance the original album and allowed me to appreciate it even more.

Frequently ridiculous, over-the-top and never sure when to stop surprising you, Simulation Theory is pure Muse. Plus the music videos include Terry freaking Crews, Instant Five Stars. Give it album of the year. Is it? I don't care. I'm in a gospel choir now, fighting werewolves and rogue computer programs.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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About the Creator

Peter Ellis

27// Published author and blogger.

Currently editing my debut novel⚡ Looking for a rep.

View my work via the link below! ⬇

https://linktr.ee/pm_ellis

He/Him 。◕‿◕。

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