Muse – Drones
- Written by David Lownds
Drones is the new offering from Muse, and despite the band’s former glories it is painfully obvious that the band is, despite flashes of such power in this venture, past their prime. The collection lacks creativity and consistent musical flair and is, for the most part, absent of high lyrical quality. All three of those elements made Muse into a modern rock giant, but here the leviathan appears to be on its last legs despite lending several punches to the fight.
The album’s lyrics are lacking in much to which the average listener can relate. Thus, the album’s narrow lyrical concept will probably alienate many in the audience. Lyrical themes such as rebellion and fear of an approaching dystopia have been present since Absolution or possibly beyond, but as they are delivered here they sound like they have been dumbed down, something evident if one compares this material to the brilliance of earlier tracks like ‘Sunburn’. Even if previous work by Muse was, in general, just as accessible, the superior music is apparently what made it seem smarter: examine, for example, the lyrics and music of ‘Ruled by Secrecy’. Directness and other kinds of simplicity are not always bad, and this can be seen in the quality of Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changing album, which shines even when compared with his slightly later output. However, there is arguably a fine line between accessibility and being unintelligent as wordsmiths and Muse seem to have unfortunately crossed the line into tedium and lack of depth or skill when it comes to most of their lyrics on Drones. For instance, in ‘Revolt’ can be found a rather confused mixture of helpless feelings and lines like: “You can make this world what you want.” ’Defector’ is an example of musical and lyrical simplicity taken much too far, Such problems are also found when music and lyrics are combined. The strutting, beefy riffs of ‘Psycho’ do not fit with the song’s description of oppression, while the way in which the words are delivered on the title track makes it difficult to make sense of the content due to the song’s high pitch.
The criticism does not end there. The album sounds mostly if not wholly like something we have heard from Muse previously, perhaps indicating a lack of ideas. Rarely, if ever, is the new music an improvement on their greatest material of the past. The heavy riff of ‘The Globalist’ pales in comparison to the likes of Absolution’s ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, while the song’s orchestral ending is not up to the standard of the magnificent closing triptych of The Resistance. ‘Mercy’ sounds like the Keane-esque earlier Muse track ‘Starlight’ with a slightly bigger kick to it, but less quality overall.
Even amongst these failures and issues, faults which have still not been completely exhausted, there are some gems. While managing to maintain some cohesion, the album is varied musically, spanning multiple shades of classical music, pop and hard rock. Often songs on the album can be placed two or more of those genres and at times elements of electronica have been added to the recipe.
To these comments on the album in general can be added commendations of the several individual moments of greatness. ‘The Handler’ features excellent-sounding bass work and a decent guitar part as well. Also, ‘The Reaper’, not just the home of the album’s strongest poetry, features, like many of the tracks here, groove-based metal riffs. The song’s guitar part is the first on the album that has been injected with a great deal of genuine lively excitement, rather than a mere shadow thereof. The eerie intro of ‘The Globalist’ is reminiscent of the seemingly Western soundtrack-inspired songs of Black Holes and Revelations like ‘City of Delusion’, while ‘Aftermath’ has a Pink Floyd-like, atmospheric beginning and even the bassline is beautiful.
Such positives are proof that Muse have not completely lost it, but one can only hope for better after a largely problematic offering from the band. They may still be one of the best rock acts in contemporary Britain, but, given the current lack of mainstream rock bands in comparison to forty years ago, such a title is arguably not a cause for huge celebration. One is left wondering what is next for the group, and hoping that they do not release a musical instead of a superior next album, although, given the grandiose drama on display herein, it would seem a logical next step.