The Road To Understanding The 2nd Law

Certain bands and albums don't have the immediate impact (or any) that they ultimately end up having in the long run.  They are what are commonly refered to as "growers".  Muse's latest album,  The 2nd Law, was just that for your truly.

Leading up to the album's September release, Muse had released a teaser ('Unsustainable') and a full song that was the official song of the London Olympics ('Survival') and finally an "official" first single ('Madness').  Nothing seemed to elicit much of reaction.  Well, that's not entirely true.  Upon hearing 'Unsustainable' I was pretty sure Muse (who are a band constantly pushing the boundaries of rock music) had gone too far and were simply attempting to jump on a trend (dubstep) and ride its coattails under the guise of being innovative.

Of course, being a big fan of Muse I thought it unfair to write them off without giving the album a fair chance.  I listened to it a few times, and was unmoved.  Had Muse jumped the shark?  Was I being overly critical?  Perhaps all the hype had made me, as my wife likes to call me, a music snob.  Gasp!

Then I was speaking to a friend who loved the record and suggested I check out Muse's recent iTunes Festival performance on Youtube.  He went on to explain that if I heard the songs in the live realm, I just might "get" the record.   Well, wouldn't you know, a week later, I can't stop listening to The 2nd Law.  It's on repeat; in the car on the way to work, at work, in the evening.  That's the sign of a truly exceptional album.

Of course, buying tickets to their upcoming tour didn't hurt matters.  I missed them on the Resistance tour and was not going to let the opportunity slip through my fingers again.  Watching, the iTunes Festival performance definitely did help break down the..."whatever" barrier that had built up around this record.  When you hear the new material side by side with the Muse back catalogue, it illustrates that no matter which new direction the band (or any band for that matter) goes in, it still ends up sounding like Muse.  But 'Survival' has some truly primary lyrics though.  But I digress.

Check out the performance for yourself below.



Thanks for reading!