MUSE - Simulation Theory

In recent years, though, it seemed like they could no longer find their ideal form, despite public approval remaining sky-high. And yet, just when it looked like the game was already up, the British trio once again manage to surprise, starting right from the cover of this "Simulation Theory" (created by Kyle Lambert, the artist behind the poster for the TV series "Stranger Things"), which instantly immerses us in synth-wave territory: a cinematic mood, nods to the East and to the 1980s, but at the same time to a dystopian, cyberpunk future painted in blue and magenta.

As for synth-wave understood as a musical genre rather than an aesthetic, on first listen there doesn't seem to be much of it, but small, distinctive echoes increasingly assert themselves if you pay attention, right from the very first track, which is also the album's best, "Algorithm". Full-bodied synths accompany touches of piano and violins and Bellamy's reedy voice in an exhausting war against "your creator", while the music video borrows from both "Tron" and "Terminator" as well as certain vaporwave jokes. The deluxe edition of "Simulation Theory" also includes an "Alternate Reality Version", less synth and more Muse, where "Muse" is to be understood as something epic, baroque and emphatic.

There are a lot of contaminations on this album, perhaps too many. Bellamy, Howard and Wolstenholme were bold to embrace so many elements within a single vision, so much so that, in the end, "Simulation Theory" is nothing more than a syncretic work that throws together a bit of everything: from the strutting funk of "Propaganda", produced by Timbaland, with Skrillex-style robots and Prince-like quotations, to "Dig Down", whose backing track dangerously recalls that of "Madness", and, why not, even a few nods to good old rock complete with epic choruses ("Blockades"). Then there's the extremely strange "Break It To Me", built on its bassline and on atmospheres recalling early-90s crossover, while also being bolstered by an Arabic-tinged rhythm. "Thought Contagion", on the other hand, will work wonders live, as shown by the live version included on the Super Deluxe edition.

We have to be honest: most of the time this picking and choosing works; whereas, as a largely forgettable (and bad) episode, I'd point to "Get Up And Fight", a teenage power-ballad that sounds like it could have come off any of Linkin Park's post-"Meteora" albums, on which, unfortunately, Bellamy squanders the album's best vocal performance. And then there's the delicate country-pop of "Something Human", which, precisely because of its wistful yearning and its simplicity, feels a bit out of place within such a dense record.

The most interesting moments, besides the already-mentioned "Algorithm", are however "The Dark Side", "The Void" and "Pressure". The latter has rock'n'roll riffs and spirit but a warm electronic-pop heart, and is probably the catchiest track the band has written since "Panic Station". And, judging by the video, it seems Muse have really been digging into "Stranger Things" and 80s splatter movies.

"The Dark Side" and "The Void" recapture that melancholic, desperate clarity shot through with hope that made us fall in love with Muse so long ago, and in this writer's opinion represent the perfect synthesis of the new Muse: armed with restless synths, but with the same weltanschauung as always.

Now in their forties, perhaps tired of remaining tied to their image as rockers and fueled by a creative restlessness that has always pushed them beyond their own limits, the three have finally found their own thoroughly fresh, contemporary dimension in which to channel, with exuberant and ambitious drive, their usual neuroses and anxieties about modern life, the future, escape from reality, and humanity's relationship with technology.

I don't believe, then, that Muse have lost their identity, as many will no doubt claim. On the contrary, with "Simulation Theory", their best album in at least six years, I'm convinced they've only just found it again.