Muse

You can fault English southerners Muse for a number of things ― coming off as Radiohead rip-offs, major label pawns or even pretentious rock stars ― but you can't deny their overarching ambition and wild abandon. The Resistance, the trio's fifth and perhaps most anticipated LP to date, unequivocally sees Muse going for the gusto, throwing everything, but caution, to the wind. Incorporating vocalist Matthew Bellamy's far-reaching falsetto with the band's newfound love of world beat and a penchant for big, brash, dynamic songwriting, The Resistance finds Muse at their most focused and confident. But beyond the layers of effects, multi-song changes and symphonic breakdowns, tracks like lead single "Uprising," the seven-minute "Unnatural Selection" and three-part mini-symphony "Exogenesis" sound exceedingly pedestrian once the pomp and circumstance wears thin. The Resistance is a fearless enough album to electrify hardcore fans, leaving the rest of us with just another album of well-conceived post-Britpop prog rock.