Pomp and passion


Peterborough Evening Telegraph 
Saturday, 18th October 2003 

Absolution Muse
(Taste/East West)
Out Now 

I must admit that Muse are one of those bands who have passed me by. They always struck me has overwrought pomp-meisters-a sort of combination of the worst bits from Genesis and Simple Minds. 
  But maybe I'll have to think again because Absolution is a cracker of an album.
  Maimman Matt Bellamy still revels in the musical drama, only to be expected from the offspring of a member of '60s beat group The Tornadoes and a medium with a love of Freddie Mercury and the boys from Queen. 
  But now there is a new focus to go with the flashy flourishes and a real power that drives this rock juggernaut. 
  They remain gloriously over the top with heavy metal influences colliding with pseudo-classical passages, but, amazingly, they sound like they know exactly what they are doing. 
  Rumbling drums and hyperactive piano form the drama for the album opener which only hints at the invention and thrills to come. 
  Latest single Time Is Running Out is a slinky radio-friendly anthem, while Sing For Absolution is an epic love song. 
  But there are still bigger and better things to come. Notably, Butterflies & Hurricanes, which has a tune to die for and a piano interlude that has sequins all over it. Epic hardly begins to describe it.
  It is hard to imagine that, at one time, the trio were frequently compared to Radiohead. The only thing they share now is a massive ambition. 
  These days Muse are the missing link between Coldplay and The Darkness, the sons that Freddie Mercury never had. 
  They are the perfect antidote to po-faced nu-metal. 
  Save your musical soul and grant yourself Absolution. 

Four out of five stars. 

(Rachael Gordon and Lisa Moore) 

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