Like Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino did for Arctic Monkeys, this sonic blue pill wipes Muse’s stylistic slate clean. Next time there’s no telling what avatars they’ll adopt.
Though it’s certainly a little less original than Muse used to be, this is a great return to form for them hidden under what initially comes off as shallow.
While Simulation Theory might appear to be overly polished mainstream trickery -- all part of the simulation! -- it's purely Muse at heart, successfully merging electronic-pop songcraft with their typically urgent, stadium rock foundation.
Like any Muse album, Simulation Theory is flamboyant, brash, surreal, totally over the top, often infuriating, but frequently stunning.
Muse’s most approachable and most ruthlessly broad record yet, it is an attempt to replicate Scorpion’s Spotify omnipresence, so on the nose the first track is called “Algorithm.” Even singer Matt Bellamy has taken off the shutter shades to take a good look in the mirror and admit that, despite Muse’s operatic ambitions, they have always been a pop band.
It’s still the less poppy moments that are most exciting.
Simulation Theory is, on the whole, pretty lightweight, but it’s got a definite elan to it that indicates Muse are still probably having fun doing this: it is considerably better than the sort of here-is-some-product-to-justify-a-tour work that a lot of bands toss off 24 years into their career.
Simulation Theory is the most honest album that Muse has created in quite some time. It’s clearly leagues below what they’re capable of, but they’re at least moving forward with the styles of music that they want to create, uninhibited by expectations rooted in the past. This is essentially a synth-pop album, one that is at times exciting and unconventional and at other times tasteless and rudimentary.
Muse’s eighth studio album, Simulation Theory, is certainly not their best—but it still serves the same Cinnabon-esque function as every Muse album, which is tickling your brainstem with sensory pleasure until you’ve got to stop, disgusted by your own indulgence.
Whereas certain songs allow the bevy of nuance that Simulation Theory presents to achieve a natural state of cohabitation, others bombard the ear with excess — forcing the musical duality with a heavy hand rather than letting it naturally manifest. It is clear from Muse’s past work that they are indeed capable of really delivering, but this time, they just didn’t do so as strongly.
Simulation Theory seems to fall into two territories – songs are either half-hearted nods to the best of their heavier rock-opera back catalogue, or futuristic, electronic pop-heavy tracks that borrow from bands more adept at that particular sound, and the vast majority of which are burdened with Bellamy’s political paranoia. For a new listener, it’s baffling. For a former, diehard fan, it’s disappointing.
Muse prove, once and for all, that they are so much better than Radiohead on the future-shock, instant classic, Simulation Theory.
There’s obviously still an audience for Muse, given by the size of the venues they still sell out, and this will definitely please the die-hards, but most of Simulation Theory simply fizzles out without leaving much of an impression.
As art, it is immature and vacant. As fun, it barely registers. It's less of a step-up from Drones than a step sideways, if only because the self-parody here feels deliberate.
Simulation Theory is all smoke and mirrors and arrives completely without substance, while a real ‘80s synth-driven LP would go beyond simply compiling a series of pitched noises that achieve little more than serving as an effective cure for insomnia.
Examining: Muse
Part 8 - Simulation Theory
Finally.
What was supposed to be a two month project in the lead up to Muse’s then yet to be released ninth album has been put off repeatedly until I’m now almost at a year since I’ve started this thing. I’ve taken so long to finish for a lot of reasons, but one of the more prominent reasons was because as I had gotten further into revisiting the band’s increasingly frustrating discography it had started to demotivate ... read more
Swagcore.
EDIT: Should be noted that when this review was written, I had this at a 70+ score. How times have changed!
Is this considered a hot take? Look, I know that rating looks oddly positive. And this will most likely cost any credibility of having any opinion on this site. I could very easily slap a 30 on this and be done with this while affair. But...damn it, Muse won me over in the end.
Yeah, there is no easy way to say this. As a giant, huge, crushing, absolutly biased Muse ... read more
10 times worse than I thought it could ever be. Now going trough Muse's discog and getting to the modern age: the late 2010s, Muse definitely showed their age at this point and how mediocre or even trashy their music could possibly be. But would this surprise turn to Synthwave after the buttrock spectacular that was 2015's Drones be a good idea?
hell no
in every way
oh my god. This is like them experimenting with dubstep and EDM on The 2nd Law but just a modern version, jumping on the ... read more
Muse' poppy experiment is a poor attempt at selling out, songs like Propaganda and something human are worthy of the title of "worst song by a band I love". But songs like pressure and break it to me are good. Although, Blockades is an underrated gem of a song. Get up and fight made me cry as I can relate to it. Thought contagion is so god damn good and can go toe to toe with most songs from BHAR, Absolution and OOS. Although the bad parts of this album are awful. The production can ... read more
(I Listened To This 2 Years Ago, So Im Going Off Of My Thoughts From That Listen)
Mostly Forgettable.
FINAL SCORE: 50/100
TOP TRACKS: Thought Contagion, Pressure
1 | Algorithm 4:05 | 71 |
2 | The Dark Side 3:47 | 76 |
3 | Pressure 3:55 | 77 |
4 | Propaganda 3:00 | 51 |
5 | Break it to Me 3:37 | 62 |
6 | Something Human 3:46 | 47 |
7 | Thought Contagion 3:26 | 63 |
8 | Get Up and Fight 4:04 | 38 |
9 | Blockades 3:50 | 67 |
10 | Dig Down 3:48 | 45 |
11 | The Void 4:44 | 65 |