(Mushroom)
Herald rating: * * *
Review: Russell Baillie
Muse are a Brit trio now enjoying Brit Next Big Thing status and on the evidence of their debut album it's not hard to see why. Mainly because they sound quite a lot like someone else and no doubt whoever discovered them has to undergo their day being forced to utter the phrase "the new Radiohead" once or twice an hour.
They sure do sound like the Oxford mob, what with singer Mattew Bellamy's voice doing his best Stars in Their Eyes of 'head singer Thom Yorke - when it's not echoing Jeff Buckley's choirboy angst.
The guitars and dynamics are similary angular and jagged and if this reminds of Radiohead's rocky debut Pablo Honey it may be partly due to the fact that Showbiz producer John Leckie was also behind the controls of that one.
Comparisons aside, it's hard not to be impressed by Muse's way with a headstrong, overwrought anthem (as on Fillip) or a quivering quiet ballad (the very Buckley/ bluesy Falling Down). Add to that occasional urges towards flouncy Suede-meets-Blur pop of (Cave) or spots of goth brooding (as on the flamenco-ish Uno) and Muse come on like a young band that are still working their way through their various inspirations.
We may well cringe at how much of Muse's sleeve-room those influences are taking up - and Bellamy's lyrics can seem more than a little angst-by-numbers - but you still can't help think: Muse still sound like they mean it.
<i>Muse:</i> Showbiz
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