Muse welcome ‘The Wow! Signal’ with a giddy, playful comeback gig
At a rare small-venue show in Brixton, Muse debut material from their upcoming album.
“Be nice on Reddit,” says Matt Bellamy, playfully waggling his finger at the crowd of London’s O2 Academy Brixton after unveiling new song ‘Cryogen’. “Be nice, or you’ll break Dom [Howard]’s heart.” It’s easy to see why they might be a little nervous.
See, in the past few years, Muse’s sci-fi rock anthems about drone warfare, corrupt political systems and ruinous AI algorithms have felt less like dark escapist fantasies and more like a musical version of the 6 o’clock news. Meanwhile, 2022’s ‘Will Of The People’ saw the band wrestling with their own legacy. Instead of releasing a Greatest Hits album, they set out to create a collection of new, genre-hopping stadium rock tunes that would live up to what had come before. It was an oddly conservative move from a group who haven’t exactly been shy about trying to push boundaries.
It all means there’s more than usual riding on tonight’s last-minute era kick-off gig beyond one of the world’s most consistently impressive live bands playing a smaller-than-usual room.
Muse’s answer to all this? Double down on playful rock & roll. They kick things off with old faithful ‘Hysteria’ before vibey fan-favourite Black Holes & Revolutions cut ‘Map Of The Problematique’ gets the room dancing. ‘Psycho’ takes heavy metal machismo to pantomime levels of ridiculous; ‘United States Of Eurasia’ is a glam rock call for unity, and it’s impossible not to get caught up in the space western epic ‘Knights Of Cydonia’. For afters, Muse deliver a pulsating drum & bass remix of ‘Isolated System’ before Matt reappears in light up jacket and specs to lead the crowd in the slinking synth-pop of ‘Undisclosed Desires’ and the clap-happy ‘Starlight’.
“Last time we played here was 25 years ago when we were still kids,” says a particularly chatty Matt before the psychedelic alt-rock trip of ‘New Born’, scuzzy crowdpleaser ‘Plug In Baby’ and early tender ballad ‘Unintended’. As for what comes next, ‘Cryogen’ is a gloriously cocksure funk-rock anthem that strikes a perfect balance between sincerity and silly. It’s one of three tracks aired from Muse’s upcoming tenth album, ‘The Wow! Signal’, a record named after a 70s extraterrestrial mystery that will explore “existential hope”. Fellow newbie ‘Unravelling’ is a fast and chaotic hunk of rock excess, while recent single ‘Be With You’ is a dreamy loved-up number about fresh starts and unwavering optimism. It’ll undoubtedly become a euphoric festival favourite in the summers to come.
Towards the end of the night, after the groovy disco of 'Supermassive Black Hole', Matt punches the air and gleefully tells the crowd, “We’re back”. We’ll have to wait and see just what Reddit makes of that declaration, but here there are no complaints about Muse’s joyful return.
