Muse // The 2nd Law

Whether you're a fan of Muse or not, you can't argue against the fact that they're not afraid to be bold with their albums and they're definitely one of the most experimental bands around and their new release: The 2nd Law is definitely their most experimental piece of work yet.

Their 9-minute-long symphony in The Resistance was something extraordinary and created a lot of hype around that album and with The 2nd Law comes another hype, a new Muse era: the rise of musestep.

The trailer released for the album gave fans a taster of what was in store from this album sampling the song Unsustainable and giving us an insight into the alluded musestep.



The album is not full of this genre of music though, the experimental material is left for the end, as well as seeping into their song Follow Me, with their two takes on dubstep: Unsustainable and Isolated System, ending the album.
Personally, I prefer the latter of the two songs. Isolated System is a much softer version of dubstep without lyrics whereas I think Unsustainable would be preferred more by fans of the Skrillex form of the genre.

As well as their development of musestep, fans are introduced to the vocal talent of another member of the band: the bassist, Chris Wolstenholme. Although hearing his voice on a track is not entirely new to Muse fans as he is featured as a background vocalist in Supermassive Black Hole.
But in this album, he is given two songs to himself: Save Me - a beautifully vulnerable sounding song including lyrics such as: "Don't let me go, I'm nothing without you" - and Liquid State, a much rockier song with harsher vocals, which, to me, sounds very similar to InnerPartySystem.
Decisions like this are somewhat risky, introducing a voice that is unfamiliar with Muse fans, however gathering from their reactions, it seems to have paid off. Having a different voice to listen to is quite refreshing and shows yet another side to Muse and their talents.

However, Muse have not forgotten their roots. The album is still full of fantastic riffs and guitar solos, the sound everyone associates with the band.
Explorers seems very reminiscent of Soldier's Poem from Black Holes and Revelations, and the guitar solo from Madness is very Brian May-esque therefore creating a similar Queen sound to that of United States of Eurasia from The Resistance.

It's difficult to say if this is their best album yet as every album they produce is so diverse and completely different to the previous. It's the Muse we all know and love, with a twist.
They give their fans something new every time and with their next album, I wouldn't be surprised if they turned reggae. Although, I'm sure they could even make that work.

Bloc Party // Four

Waking up this morning, it seemed like every other day: I'd get up, make myself a cup of tea and retire back to my bed for an hour or so of mind-numbing daytime television.

All while downstairs in the kitchen, I had August 20th marked down with 'BLOC PARTY ALBUM!'. I was counting down the days. Soon I would have the long-awaited album in my hands.

I was aware there had been various leaks surfacing on the internet, as well as the band themselves streaming the album on their website, but I had vowed to keep away from it until I could have a solid copy to listen to.

So there I was, in bed, when my brother bursts through my door with a parcel in his hands. I was slightly confused... I hadn't been expecting anything. Then he says those words that make my heart beat faster: "It feels like a CD".

Could it be?!

I grabbed it off of him and ripped it open and there, in all it's glory, were those 4 concentric circles in red, blue, yellow and green. I had it. I was finally holding Four. I couldn't help but just hug it and savor it for a few minutes. It may sound like an over-reaction but every Bloc Party fan has been waiting three years for this moment to arrive.

I had no idea what to expect from it as I placed the CD into my laptop. I had heard people say it was a lot heavier than the previous albums and it had been highly praised. From what I had heard from 'Octopus' and 'Day Four' I was sure it would be something incredible but all I knew at that moment was that I had to turn up the volume and just let the music take hold of me.

Straight in with the first song 'So He Begins To Lie' and it seemed everyone was right, it was much heavier but this wasn't anything I would be complaining about, instead, I was reveling in it.
Their use of guitar has become much heavier and they have a more apparent rock sound, moving away slightly from their previous mellow indie image.

However, they don't leave it behind completely.
Songs such as 'Day Four', 'Real Talk', 'Truth' and 'The Healing' take them back to their Silent Alarm roots with that 'This Modern Love' sound.

I noticed as I was listening to it that they seem to split the different genres up, with heavier songs being broken up by a chilled out, mellow song placed in between. It is pretty refreshing to have something softer in between so you don't feel, perhaps, bombarded with this brand new sound from them.

As well as that, Kele splits up the songs with his own version of an interlude: odd little anecdotes and musings. They provide the listener with a laugh as well as an insight into the band's personality, showing that they're much more than just the music.

I can safely say that Four was worth the three years of waiting and avoiding all the material online. I love this new sound from them, albeit I'm slightly bias being a rock fan, and if anybody hasn't been much of a Bloc Party fan from their previous albums then I'd definitely recommend that they give this a listen.
I have no other words to describe it other than simply: incredible.

Bloc Party are back!