Review Summary: If this was from any band other than Muse, it would be labelled wildly inconsistent. For them, it's expected.
If this album had been released 10 years ago, it would’ve been seen as somewhat of a failure, a good effort somewhere below the near masterpieces Muse had just recorded. However, circumstance is a funny thing. After the mediocre The Resistance and an even worse 2nd Law, Drones is a true step in the right direction, though being a truly inconsistent album.
Right from the start the album’s flow is questionable. It opens with Dead Inside, a passionate, poppy tune that infectiously grows on you. It’s filled with a bubbly synth and an addictive bass line reminiscent of Panic Station of 2nd Law, and Matt’s vocals really shine. It’s a good track, by no means revolutionary, but a satisfactory opener. It’s followed by Drill Sergeant, which leads into Psycho. At some points in the album, which has been called by many a concept album (it follows a narrative, each song revealing a new part of the protagonist’s life), there are beautifully crafted transitions from song to song. However, this is not one. After a nice build up, Dead Inside dies out and suddenly, there’s a man screaming at you. I’m fairly liberal in what I consider music, but for me this is totally unnecessary, it isn’t enjoyable or musical in any sense. It acts as a prelude to one of the weakest tracks, Psycho, which seems to have been made solely for live performance. The song rocks powerfully but is simplistic and unimaginative, and I haven’t even started on the lyrics…
Psycho sums up one huge gripe I have with this album in general. Lyrics have never been muse’s strength, but “your ass belongs to me now” comes off as lazy and obnoxious. Especially in a concept album, I feel as though much more care should’ve been taken here. The protagonist’s story is told in basic terms, and the political statements are very forthright, there’s not much left to be analysed or thought over which is a shame. All in all a missed opportunity.
After the piano based Mercy, strikingly similar to the popular Starlight, the album enters what is undoubtable its best phase. Reapers begins with furious, arpeggiated guitar and is followed by a frantic drum beat and a fittingly urgent vocals. It features a hectic and seemly random solo so typical of Muse and an outro heavier than anything the band has written since Fury in 2003. The chorus is somewhat lacklustre, as are the lyrics, but it’s still an enjoyable song in its own right. The heavy outro leads into by far the best song on the album, and the best song muse have recorded in a very long time. The Handler is carried by Chris’ bass, not because it’s technical, but because it’s so damn catchy. Matt’s falsetto is brilliant, the best it’s been since Knights of Cydonia. Just as it might start to get repetitive, which is an issue for many songs on Drones, from Psycho to Defector, it cuts into a crazy space rock solo, which again isn’t as much technical as just working. The song remains fully exciting for its entire 4 and a half minutes and you’re sure to have it stuck on repeat once it grows on you.
The Handler cuts into another spoken track, JFK. This, however, works well. Unlike the previous spoken track, JFK is accompanied by guitar and strings, which leads seamlessly into Defector. Defector is a similarly catchy track, very enjoyable in its own right. Muse is back to imitating Queen here, which at its heart isn’t a bad thing. The thick and powerful chord progression is pleasant, and ultimately it’s an enjoyable, easy listen, as opposed to a ground breaking or experimental track.
From this point on, the album is choppier than a beach during a storm. Revolt is a revolt against what everyone wanted to hear from muse. It’s a pop song, uninteresting, and unbelievable coming from a band of muse’s standard. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect from a boy band. Cringeworthy. It’s the sort of thing you’ll skip after your first listen, which is a shame given the concept album: You would hope the album was listenable from beginning to end. From upbeat pop, Drones heads to a sombre ballad: Aftermath. This is a commendable song, especially musically, yet it’s downfall in comparison to other slow songs muse has written over the years, such as Invincible, is that it never really builds. The vocals and singing style are a little too generic and uninteresting.
The second last track is The Globalist. This was described by the band as a “prog nightmare” and yes it is both of those things, it’s prog and a nightmare. Here muse has decided to bundle together what would be solid foundations for 3 different songs. The first part, a peacefully tune filled with whistles, is interesting and would’ve made a decent song in its own right. The second part is wonderfully heavy and exciting, and again with a set of lyrics could’ve made a great song. The last part bears huge similarity to United States of Eurasia from The Resistance, and is on the whole unexciting. Ultimately, The Globalist is almost representative of the album as the whole. The start is decent, the middle is great and the end is pretty poor, with a few different themes mashed together, with little consistency. Parts take a lot of inspiration from previous albums, and at the end, you’re left wondering what might have been if there had been a few more stand out tracks.
Recommended Tracks:
-The Handler
-Reapers
-Dead Inside
-Defector
