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Muse caused quite a stir earlier this year when Unsustainable, the first track from their sixth album, The 2nd Law, hit the internet. Fans have always appreciated the band's desire to develop their sound beyond that of the average rock group, but nobody expected them to go bro-step.
Was this track an anomaly, in the same way the funk-flavoured falsetto of Supermassive Black Hole was a startling diversion from the band's prog-fuelled stadium rock? Or was it signifying a complete abandonment of guitars in favour of becoming Skrillex 2.0?
The album's first single, Madness, offered some clues – traces of dubstep bass remained but Muse were pursuing a soft-rock sound last heard on Queen's A Kind of Magic. And a listen to The 2nd Law confirms that Muse are less about going dubstep than going "everything". The official press release mentions influences as wide-ranging as the Beach Boys to Fred Goodwin, the 12-bar blues to fatherhood. There's even some INXS in there.
Named after the second law of thermodynamics (why not?), the album is also notable for songs from bassist Chris Wolstenholme and, on Follow Me, a sampled foetal heartbeat taken from Bellamy's then unborn son. We will have a full review later this week – plus an exclusive interview with the band in this Sunday's Observer New Review – but for now have a listen and share your thoughts in the comments below.
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