Muse fascinates me. They are the most intriguing, most enigmatic band of the 21st century. This band has made their name by playing a style of many names: electronic rock, progressive, fusion-something, glam rock, experimental rock, and my personal favorite… space rock.

Each of their albums floats through the ether of multiple genres, only fully landing on genres you would not expect Muse to play, such as the Final Fantasy-esque electronic dance song “Follow Me” off of 2nd Law.  And when Muse decides to expand to another genre, they turn it on its head and simply absorb it into their swirling maelstrom of battered genre tropes.

“Dead Inside” is one of two singles released at the end of March, off of the now-highly anticipated album, Drones, scheduled for release on June 8. This song sounds like 1980s techno… but 1980s techno if Muse had invented it. Muse takes what we think we know about styles of music and simply uses it to enrich their own fantastic work.

The other new single “Psycho”, is par for the course for Muse’s “true” genre of hard-electronic-progressive-fusion-whatever space rock. The drums and bass thump with a deliberate force while the guitar buzzes around it, all accompanying and harmonizing with Matthew Bellamy’s equally enigmatic voice.

The point is, I’m really pumped for Drones. Muse tells stories through their songs better than most bands today, and I really can’t get enough of it. Look out for a retrospective review of 2nd Law, which is probably one of my favorite albums, as well as a review of Drones sometime in June.

Programming Note: We’re creating a new subcategory. Now, everything music-related will fall under “Rhythmic Fiction”, on the Daydream Springs page. Why? Because I like writing about music and I would like to continue, and I would like for all of my writings about music to be in one place. All past music posts have been retro-archived here.

Steve D