Origin Of Symmetry - Muse > Reviews > Everything about you resonates happiness....

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	A good 21st century rock record
Disadvantages:	Lyrics are rather obscure to say the least

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Origin Of Symmetry was Muse's second album and came out in summer 2001, predated by two earlier singles Plug In Baby and New Born, both of which are pretty representative of the overall sound of this album. The CD came complete with a set of pictures by various artists all titled "Origin Of Symmetry", which I thought was a nice touch. God knows what the cover is supposed to represent but as an album cover it looks pretty good I reckon.

For a three piece, Muse get to deliver a pretty powerful sound. It's obvious to me that this is Matt Bellamy's band, and although bassist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dom Howard are not there just to make up the numbers, it's Bellamy's plaintive vocals and (occasionally overplayed) guitar that dominates. Whilst the lyrics are quite often incomprehensible, the arrangements and playing are excellent. Put them up against another modern three piece, ooooh lets say Feeder, and they will smash them into the dirt any time. (Did anyone mention Green Day? Muse could play them off the stage any day of the week).

Sometimes the Bellamy vocals, which are normally a bit on the high pitched side, get the electronica treatment, which is good because not only does it stop his voice sounding a tad ridiculous it also adds an extra dimension to the musical chicanery going on behind it. Overall the production, courtesy of John Leckie and David Botterill, is excellent, blending a powerful guitar sound into a competent rythym section to bring out an imperious effect over the course of this CD.

New Born, the second single taken from this set and first track overall, expolodes out of the traps like a greyhound and speeds off into the distance propelled by a frenetic high end bassline.

Feeling Good, a cover of the Bricusse/Newley standard, is taken pretty much faithfully to the original but has a section of vocoder in the middle eight which brings a touch of 21st century to it. Screenager is a quieter, moodier piece that manages to put the brakes on what was (just) a CD starting to sound a little OTT. Space Dementia is a bit of a tripped out sound, almost like a rockier version of the Brit-hop or trip-hop acts doing the rounds at the time.

Funnily enough it's a couple of the shorter tracks, Micro Cuts and Hyper Music that see this progressive band stretch out to experiment a bit further. The former has some treated vocals rising to a hysterical level and the latter, whilst on the surface a straightforward thrash, actually has some interesting bass going on underneath. The outstanding Plug In Baby, first single taken from this collection, starts off with feedback drone and leads into an erupting chorus. Once again Wolstenholme's slightly sponged down bass underpins this classic of modern rock music.

The very best track on here is Citizen Erased, seven minutes of light and shade. Muse are sometimes likened to Queen, why for I've no idea, but I think people look at this one track and write it off as being a 21st Century rewrite of Bohemian Rhapsody. No it's not! If anything it reminds me of some of the songs on Mansun's "Six" - a good reference point if ever there was one. The band even get to try out a bit of swing on Dark Shines, though by the time it's reached its conclusion it has turned into another pomp epic.

All in all, for modern rock, much of which I cannot stand (it's a genre which I personally feel is going nowhere fast, due to the fact everyone seems to have ran out of ideas y'see) thank heavens for Muse, who are one of the few genuinely creative acts around today. This is a very good album and kids, I bet even your dad would get with it. So go and crucify my enemies when I'm tired of giving. Woooah.