(MUSE) Muse update
Friday 2nd March 2001
By Jon Rhodes
After you have lived through the most incendiary 24 hours in rock's recent history and then had a white hot year yourselves you would think it was probably time to chill. But fans of Muse will not be disappointed as their heroes crank up the temperature and tempo with their first release of 2001. And if the new single Plug in Baby is any indication of what is to come then someone better call the fire brigade because this three-piece are cooking on gas.
As guitarist and lead singer Matt Bellamy explained that the band wanted to push on from the success of debut album Showbiz, but stay true to their loud and lewd beliefs. He said: "We've just finished recording the new album, which should be out in the not too distant future."
As guitarist and lead singer Matt Bellamy explained that the band wanted to push on from the success of debut album Showbiz, but stay true to their loud and lewd beliefs. He said: "We've just finished recording the new album, which should be out in the not too distant future."
"We are very pleased with the sound of it, and think it's the best thing we've ever done. I know we should be saying that, but's true. There's quite a lot of heavy stuff out there, which I know will please a few people, and some of the heavy stuff is ridiculously heavy. The song-writing is pretty much the same as the first album, but I feel the lyrics are way better and we have upped the tempo on a few track. Some sound like a cross between Daft Punk and Nirvana!"
One song is said to feature a piano and one with a church organ, but worry not - they are both hooked up through distortion pedals of course! Maybe we should not be surprised by the high octane approach given Muse have experience of almost being torched themselves. Woodstock 99 - when seemingly all America's Beavis and Buttheads came out to set fire to a festival in New York - was a real eye opener for the Devon outfit.
"The minute we stepped off the bus we knew it was a mistake," Matt recollected. "We saw it starting to kick off and we were advised to leave when the kids started burning things so we were glad to do so. We won't be going back that's for sure."
Muse were born when Matt, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard were at school in Teignmouth. It was at the height of the great Blur/Oasis rivalry, but the lad deemed Britpop not passionate enough and so turned their eyes to the other side of the Atlantic and started listening to the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, while Radiohead's The Bends album kept the home fires burning.
In 1998 they found themselves in Manchester for that year's "In The City Show". At the same time, a couple of labels began to show interest in them leading to a dazzling show in New York and a deal with Madonna's Maverick label.
From there the whole thing has taken off, earning a solid and fanatical fanbase, as well as a clutch of awards for their superb debut Showbiz.
Last year saw them sweep the boards at the NME Awards while many expect their second album to cement their place in the Premiership of the British indie scene.
"We took last year pretty much in our stride," explained Matt, "but it wasn't that hard because we spent most of it on the road! It's not as if we did a Coldplay, who just exploded the minute they came on the scene. Our album didn't sell that well when it first came out, and it wasn't until we started touring that it really took off for us. We're proud of the amount of gigs we have played, that is where we have built our fan base, and we're just excited buy* the release of this new album and getting back on the road."
They will be doing exactly that after Easter when their UK tour hits Leeds University on Saturday May 26.
Muse's new single Plug in Baby is released on Mushroom Records on Monday.
Notes
"Buy": Original spelling in the article.
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