Muse Doesn't Dig Deep Enough To Impress

Muse often incorporates annihilation and distrust of political leaders in its music. During "Dig Down" vocalist Matthew Bellamy, bassist Christopher Wolstenhome and drummer Dominic Howard return to those topics but their usual bouncing off the ceiling cosmic energy proves itself to be greatly lacking. You get a lot of fuzzy keyboards and inoffensive drumming but not enough intensity to make me say that the song belongs in the same breath as true classics as "Knights of Cydonia or "Hysteria". I shudder to say that this sounds like something the band phoned in and in so doing opted to rest on its laurels after a decade of fairly consistent quality work. I confess Muse is one of the only bands walking the face of the Earth that could get away with coasting a bit but still you like to think a Muse song generally poses an invitation to be the voyeur for an unabashed production number that explores the outer limits of what can be done to broaden the parameters of rock artistry. "Dig Down" shuffles on through like it knows what message it's trying to convey and is willing to take its time getting to the point. Essentially Muse tries to rally us troop members in the name of not allowing the darkness to overpower the light even after hope and love have disintegrated into funereal ash. Vocally Matt maintains his strong yet sinister take on the world he sees around him. However nestled deep in the lyric sheet there is an insistence on trying to find a way to stay strong that proves Matthew hasn't surrendered to impending doom. Especially touching are these words in verse one. "We must find a way. Face the firing squad. Against all the odds you will find a way." Matt's the kind of friend I want hanging around me during my darkest moments. He's both a realist and a guarded optimist. He has his doubts about whether humanity as a collective will pull through but he doesn't rain on anyone's potential parade either. I hate to say this but Matt's teased up synths don't really add a whole lot to the potential heft "Dig Down" could've had if he had allowed them to spread their wings just a bit. With other Muse tracks I usually get treated to some defining adjective that allows me to see up close and personal what the band's mindset might have been. For instance "Hysteria" might be referred to as panic stricken. "Stockholm Syndrome" suggests a person broken into a million pieces who's trying desperately to atone for previous sins. As for "Knights of Cydonia" that shouts gunslinger in an outer space frontier. Pretty huge declarations compared to "Dig Down" which comes off like the neighbor who doesn't want to overstay his welcome. Some idle pleasantries and then it's back to the old homestead. For "Dig Down" Muse brought plenty of prog rock grit but didn't bring along a large enough shovel.