Excellent songs but too similar too each other (Showbiz - Muse)

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Product:	Showbiz - Muse
Date:	25/09/01 (8 review reads)
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Muscle Museum, which is one of my Top Ten songs of all time, promised loads for this album. I first got into Muse after hearing Unintended on TOTP when it was a minor hit in Summer 2000. I loved it. It was quite a light song, (which is untypical for Muse) but the falsetto was wonderful, and ten times better than Thom Yorke, Chris Martin et al. This voice became known as Matthew Bellamy. Having done a bit of research on Muse, I discovered that they had had an album out for month, producing the No. 80-something 'Uno' No. 59 'Cave', the No. 34 'Sunburn', the No. 70-something 'Muscle Museum' and Unintended (released twice) at No. 50-something and No. 19. I kind of forget about them for a while. But then Muscle Museum was re-released. I'm not sure where it hit in the charts, but I do remember hearing it only three times - it was pretty scarce on the radio. Once I heard it on an aeroplane, then in a McDonald's, then on my parents' radio station in 'Desert Island Discs'. I also heard Uno on a compilation and this was enough to buy the album.

However it was slightly disappointing. Whilst the formula of angst abounds in beauty in 'Muscle Museum', 'Uno', 'Unintended' etc. it becomes tiring on some other tracks. 'Sunburn' for instance, whilst being quite good, is a little melodramatic. 'Fillip' is beautifully discordant, but when the feat is attempted on 'Cave' we get less exciting results. 'Falling Down' and 'Unintended' are the softer tracks on the album and Unintended is beautiful but Falling Down, although very respectable, is less so. 'Showbiz' is excellent but by the time we reach the not dissimilar 'Sober', 'Escape', and 'Overdue' they are forgettable at first listen, although 'Hate This And I'll Love You' is unmissable.

Generally each track is very good by itself but they are too similar.


By the way, all fans: New Single, Plug In Baby available March.

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