Favorite Record: "Psycho" by Muse

Muse is one of my favorite bands. I've loved almost every album they've done, Showbiz excepted, and really even the band doesn't like Showbiz so I think it's okay. From the sounds of their latest single, "Psycho," the band's upcoming seventh album, Drones, won't disappoint.

Except for that album art.

It's hideous. I hate looking at it. It absolutely does not fit in with Muse's past album art, which has been beautiful before, and it's about as subtle as a sledgehammer in the hands of the Incredible Hulk. I can't even think of a worse album cover that isn't 70s cheese or from the former USSR. As soon as I saw it, I said, "this belongs on /r/im14andthisisdeep." Minutes later, as I scrolled through Reddit on my phone while waiting for my lunch to cook, what did I see on /r/im14andthisisdeep but this very album cover.

I'm not a fan is what I'm saying.

There's a lot I like about Muse. I like their sound, however much it varies; I like their lyrics most of the time, though some get a little too "#deep" for me, to borrow a phrase from Bo Burnham. And I like their live performance; I've seen them twice now and plan on seeing them many more times. No matter what you think about the band as a whole, there's no doubt they put on a hell of a show. The tour for Drones will be incredible, even though the album art sucks beyond description.

If the rest of the album sounds anything like the first single, it's going to be great. We're all adults here, but fair warning: Matt Bellamy was not exaggerating when he said the song was not at all radio-friendly. Harsh language ahoy.

So let's talk.

My initial impression was that Bellamy and the crew are big Stanley Kubrick fans. The entire thing felt like a six-minute-long Full Metal Jacket reference, but, having never seen the entirety of Full Metal Jacket, I can't confirm this. But I'm pretty sure about it.

Muse isn't really a subtle band to begin with, but especially with this lyric video, "Psycho" is on the nose, even for them. I mean...yikes. Yikes. We get it, guys, you're anti-war, anti-military, anti-government, anti-establishment, anti-everything. Twenty-something years later and they're still at it. I kind of like that, but I'm beginning to think the band needs to evolve lyrically. That's my biggest beef with "Psycho," besides the complete lack of subtlety in its lyric video: it's a little too similar to some of Muse's other songs, like "Uprising" and "Supremacy," the lead singles from the band's past two albums. 

That's not to say I don't like how it sounds. I love how the song sounds. It's catchy, it's rough, it's badass. If the rest of Drones sounds like "Psycho," I might be able to forgive the album art (I'm sorry, I can't get over how mind-splittingly awful it is). It'll be a nice change from the space-rock sound Muse was playing with on The Resistance and The 2nd Law. Personally, I'm hoping for Drones to be dark and gritty, with lots of guitar riffs and strong drums. Fingers crossed.

All things considered, "Psycho" is a pretty good song. I like my media to be a bit less in-your-face, but that's not what Muse gives you. Muse is all about being in your face, and "Psycho" fits right in with their other work. Was it worth the year-long wait? Probably, I'd say. Will the album be worth it? We can only hope, but I'm feeling optimistic.