Muse should change their name to A-muse. They're certainly having fun with this, their eighth studio album.
And that's important to keep in mind, lest you take their apocalyptic lyrics a little too seriously.
"We are cages in simulations ... This means war. With your creator!," frontman Matt Bellamy pronounces on track one, Algorithm.
It's a grand opening for yet another grand album, and one in which Muse spread their wings even further, playing with genres beyond stadium space rock.
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Advertise with NZME.Like on Propaganda, with its breathy Prince-like vocals amid electro-madness and even a steel guitar solo.
It's one example of the heavy 80s-retro theme throughout the album and its accompanying music videos.
The slower yet catchy track Something Human is a standout, alongside the synth-heavy Dark Side, performed like they're tortured early 80s new romantics.
But for the best time on Simulation Theory, check out Pressure (including its Back to the Future- referencing video).
The Super Deluxe version of the album includes a fantastic marching band version of the track, as well as "alternate reality" and acoustic versions of the other tracks.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
