Muse — Absolution

What is it about life in the U.K. that produces such depressing music? Whether due to drizzle, dubious dental hygiene or a lack of new Monty Python material, English trio Muse enjoy wallowing in misery and exorcising demons via the power of Rock Guitar.

Absolution, their third full-length, begins on a fittingly chipper note with lead singer Matthew Bellamy howling "This is the end of the world" on "Apocalypse Please." This sets the tone for the remainder of the 14-track disc, from the pensive "Blackout" to the yearning first single "Time Is Running Out." In Muse’s case, Absolution could very well refer to the band’s enormous debt to Thom Yorke and company. Because if you don’t think this record sounds an awful lot like pre-Kid A Radiohead, you’re either deaf, in denial or shagging someone in the band.

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