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http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/187052/new-music-muse-the-2nd-law/

 

Popular “band” Muse have returned once more to the increasingly reluctant ears of the populace with another single. They have thrown their hat into the ring once more, and this time, the ring throws their hat back.

Once known for their Radiohead-lite artistic flourishes that combined histrionics with art school sensibilities, they then settled in for a multi-album stretch of sounding exactly the same. The singer guy yelled the same way in all songs, the guitars sounded like Michael Bay movies looked in all songs, and the production was so tight it sounded as if it had been squeezed out of a unicorn’s asshole.

All of this was fine: you could, at the very least, ignore it. Muse went from indie darlings to stadium fillers and then to the increasingly awkward “we can keep filling stadiums without actually doing anything different other than sounding like Kiss for engineers” phase. This time – though – they’ve come back with fucking dubstep.

But that isn’t their biggest flaw here, surprisingly. Oh no. It’s one thing to latch yourself to a fad as passing and one-note sounding as mainstream dubstep (make no mistake, this is as mainstream and as cookie-cutter as dubstep could ever sound). Perhaps their biggest flaw was the name “The 2nd Law – Unsustainable”… the song itself is completely fucking unsustainable. It is as if someone had simply turned on the Muse Songwriting Machine, turned it to the “dubstep” setting, and left the room and forgot about the result.

The song isn’t so much “bad” as it is just plain lazy – the sound of a band far too comfortable in their own groove for far too long. Perhaps the best way to describe “The 2nd Law – Unsustainable” is to imagine the conversation in the studio directly before recording it:

“Hey guys, let’s do something different.”

“Well, dubstep is popular.”

“I’ve got a caviar and cocaine meeting in an hour, lets get this over with.”

And, presto. There you have it.

Muse were once admired for their aural bravado and spectacle. “Unsustainable” is the sound of a band so bored with being a band that they will do literally anything to stay relevant, while being too lazy to actually change anything about their sound.

It is, for my money, the absolute worst song of the year. And I already heard Mumford & Sons’ new song, so that’s saying a lot.

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I was reading reviews just now.

 

I don't see that 'big divide' that was expected with the release of a song with dubstep elements. It was a mix of good reviews, bad reviews, reviewers who didn't quite know what to make of the song.

 

Overall, typical Muse.

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I was reading reviews just now.

 

I don't see that 'big divide' that was expected with the release of a song with dubstep elements. It was a mix of good reviews, bad reviews, reviewers who didn't quite know what to make of the song.

 

Overall, typical Muse.

 

I think I've actually seen more negative comments overall, more so than usual, from users here, NME.com (lol), and this article

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http://diffuser.fm/muse-unsustainable/

 

Muse have hopped on the dubstep bandwagon — and wouldn’t you know it, like everything else the Brit rock trio churns out, they’ve done it in epic fashion. For a taste of Muse trying their hand at the biggest trend in EDM, check out Exhibit A: ’Unsustainable,’ the latest track unleashed from their forthcoming sixth full-length album, ‘The 2nd Law.’

 

Muse have always incorporated electronic elements into their epic sonic brew — 2006′s ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ especially wore its Depeche Mode influences on its sleeve – so a little detour down dubstep avenue isn’t the biggest surprise in the world. That said, frontman Matthew Bellamy and the boys have always attempted to stay one step ahead of musical trends, so seeing them try their hand at dubstep at a point so far back on the dubstep popularity curve does seem a little strange — and frankly, even a bit disappointing.

 

But forget all that for a minute and let’s get down to the important part: Does it work? We won’t get the whole picture until the entirety of ‘The 2nd Law’ is unleashed on Oct. 1 and we can judge ‘Unsustainable’ in the context of one segment of an entire album — Muse, after all, aim to release albums that fit together as organic wholes.

 

As a single track, they do pull off an adequate approximation of dubstep. Mashing together midtempo rock beats, a synth orchestral string section, samples of a woman talking about the imminent demise of our planet (via unsustainable energy practices, of course) and some soaring background vocals with all the grinding, bass-dropping warble effects that define dubstep, ‘Unsustainable’ seems all set to take over the dance floor, no remixing required.

 

7/10

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“Unsustainable” is the sound of a band so bored with being a band that they will do literally anything to stay relevant, while being too lazy to actually change anything about their sound.

It is, for my money, the absolute worst song of the year.

 

Very true but for me The 2nd Law and Muse are 2/2 - with 2 tracks out, we already have 2 of their worst tracks ever and 2 absolute & solid contenders as worst songs of the year (with the Survival as one of the most horrible Olympics songs ever).

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Very true but for me The 2nd Law and Muse are 2/2 - with 2 tracks out, we already have 2 of their worst tracks ever and 2 absolute and solid contenders as worst songs of the year (with the Survival as one of the most horrible Olympics songs ever).

 

Have you ever, by any chance, listened to something else than Muse?

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Yes, ton of new songs every day and gazilion of songs every year (all kinds of music genre) to be fair there are so many horrible songs this year (nothing unusual) are up there in the company of Survival and Unsustainable but don't be surprised if Muse top so many shameful lists for this year - and that ton of shit gets released/produced every fucking year for pop music.

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Very true but for me The 2nd Law and Muse are 2/2 - with 2 tracks out, we already have 2 of their worst tracks ever and 2 absolute & solid contenders as worst songs of the year (with the Survival as one of the most horrible Olympics songs ever).

 

I think you're overreacting.

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^* not in response to the above

No. You maybe overreacting to opinions that you do not agree with. I respect fans if their take is the total opposite of mine. There are so many contenders for the worst but Survival and Unlistenable stand out for so many obvious reasons, personally or for my musical tastes.

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Very true but for me The 2nd Law and Muse are 2/2 - with 2 tracks out, we already have 2 of their worst tracks ever and 2 absolute & solid contenders as worst songs of the year (with the Survival as one of the most horrible Olympics songs ever).

 

Haha, hope you are kidding..?

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^* not in response to the above

No. You maybe overreacting to opinions that you do not agree with. I respect fans if their take is the total opposite of mine. There are so many contenders for the worst but Survival and Unlistenable stand out for so many obvious reasons, personally or for my musical tastes.

 

What exactly is your musical taste? GL?

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