COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

Muse might be a British band, 
but they reached the height of 
their popularity in the States 
when George Bush’s presidency 
turned 
toward 
absolute 
contention. Without feeling too 
abstract or derivative, Absolution 
and Black Holes and Revelations 

played like soundtracks to “1984”; 
they spoke to our emotions, 
not just our politics. You might 
have even hated Muse, felt their 
political slant was a bit too “holier 
than thou,” but there was no 
denying their talent, the magnetic 
bass of Christ Wolstenholme and 
Matt Bellamy’s impressive vocal 
range.
This is why 2015’s Drones was 
a disappointment: On a surface 
level, it was a classic Muse album, 
concept based and musically 
exceptional. 
But 
the 
lyrics 
and concept itself were trite, 
difficult to follow and downright 
patronizing. Drones is comparable 
to your uncle frothing conspiracy 
theories during Thanksgiving 
dinner; it lacked tact and tried too 
hard to push a message about war 
and drones. In essence, it forgot 
how to have fun.
Muse’s 
latest 
release 
Simulation 
Theory 
settles 
somewhere 
in 
the 
middle. 
Although by no means their best 
release, it handles its concept 
well and brings Muse’s lyricism 
back to earth. Inspired by the 
“simulation hypothesis,” it talks 
about sci-fi like a dystopian novel 
would: thematically cautious and 
immersive, elegantly riding off 
the ’80s synth and pop culture 
trend without sacrificing Muse’s 
sound.
The initial track “Algorithm” 
begins with a pounding synth 
that transforms and builds; it 
gets grittier and rougher until 

it culminates in a softer, almost 
symphonic pulsation with the 
introduction of a piano and 
violin. Bellamy’s iconic falsetto 
carries the rising and falling of 
the beat following the minute-
and-a-half mark. It plays like a 
fresher intro theme to “Tron,” 
with its ominous but melodic beat 
that oscillates between chugging 
and fluttering forward. Although 
the lyrics (“Churn like a cog / 
We are caged in simulations / 
Algorithms evolve”) are far from 
a little hard to take seriously, 
it still plays well into this sort 
of “Brave New World” Muse 
attempts to illustrate throughout 
Simulation Theory.
Conversely, the third track off 
the album, “Pressure,” veers less 
into abstracts. The imagery is a lot 
easier to grasp as Bellamy croons 
“I’m feeling the pressure / I can’t 
break out / No one can hear me 
scream and shout.” The phrase 
“pressure building” is whispered 
sporadically 
throughout 
the 
song, further pushing the image 
of someone breaking down with 
building tension. Classic Muse 
guitar riffs streak the song and 
pull it forward as a subdued synth 
slinks in the background. Heavy-
handed and perhaps a slightly 
more esoteric presentation of 
our current political state, the 
song doesn’t make it too obvious, 
playing off more anthemic and 
catchy.
“Propaganda” 
serves 
as 
the album’s most overtly ’80s 
sounding 
song. 
Its 
opening 
rumbles with scratchy robotic 
vocals that repeat the word 
“propaganda” 
erratically, 
an 
obvious reference to Prince’s 
1999. There are vague whispers 
of “Kiss”’s guitar licks and beats 
that marry well with Bellamy’s 
notably 
high-pitched 
vocals. 
But where Prince succeeds in 
telling his listeners “Fuck it, let’s 
party” at the sight of the end of 
the world, Muse fails as they 
persuade us to save it, folding in 
vague references to oil slicks and 
lying politicians.
The rest of the album follows 
the same formula of synth, a 
vague ’80s reference and political 
commentary. This isn’t to say the 
elements do not bond well with 

each other; every ingredient 
works in tandem to deliver 
Muse’s unwavering commentary 
and caution. Musically, the album 
is refreshing, deftly stitching in 

influences that generally exist 
strictly in genres. Despite the 
heavy incorporation of synth, 
the instrumentation is lavish and 
full, with bass and drums making 
useful appearances as well. As 
a concept album, “Simulation 
Theory” is polished, cohesive and 
steered clear of monotony.
The problem with “Simulation 
Theory” comes in the sense that it 
is too polished, too clean and too 
obsessed with the bigger picture. 
It paints a political picture 
broadly and in binaries of good 
and evil rather than exploring the 
more human component to our 
current political climate. Muse 
does not bring any new ideas to 
the table despite their extensive 
efforts to present themselves as 
profound. Politics is a lot fuzzier 
and expansive than brainwashing 
and good versus evil. A political 
concept 
album 
only 
really 
succeeds when it can be made 
personal and tell a story — not 
merely scream out abstractions 
and emotive lyricism.

‘Simulation Theory’ is an 
unconvincing dystopia

DIANA YASSIN
Daily Arts Writer

WARNER BROS. RECORDS

Rude Mechanicals wows 
in ‘Let the Right One In’

Blind dates are always an 
interesting experience. Like most 
things, they can go one of two 
ways: well, or not so well. You run 
the risk of commiting to a long 
interaction with a person you do 
not get along with at all, or you 
get the awesome experience of 
meeting a person that you mesh 
really well with that you never 
would have known otherwise. 
Last Sunday, I had a blind date 
with the Rude Mechanicals’s 
production of “Let the Right One 
In.”
It started off pretty well; The 
show started on time and the 
set was beautiful. However, the 
conversation I was about to have 
was dramatically different than I 
was expecting. I was expecting 
a performance about letting 
the right people into your life, 
or something along those lines. 
However, when the production 
opened with a gruesome murder, 
I was surprised, to say the least.
One might expect someone 
writing a review of this play to 
have done a little more research 
before actually seeing said play. 
While most of the time I agree, 
the initial, raw reactions are also 
interesting and noteworthy. 
The story follows a young 
boy, Oskar, and his recently 
established 
friendship 
with 
the new girl in town, Eli. Amid 
merciless bullying and a less 
than great life at home, Oskar’s 
relationship with his new friend 
blossoms. However, Oskar starts 
to realize a connection between 
the sudden murders in the town 
with the appearance of Eli.
After such an intense opening 
scene, I was hooked. Director 
James Harbaugh seemed to do 

everything in his power to grab 
the audience and keep them 
intrigued from the get-go in this 
almost three-hour performance. 
The opening details seemed 
perfect; 
the 
beautiful 
set, 
complete with seemingly realistic 
snow and trees, created an eerie 
environment that portrayed the 
dark woods of a Norwegian town 
quite well. Seeing the snow fly up 
in gusts as characters ran from 
stage left to stage right reminded 
me of winter here in Mich.
The production used a fitting 
soundtrack of industrial-based 
synth music, adding tension to 
climaxes and atmosphere to 
other scenes. However, there 
were times when it felt like the 
production seemed to rely a 
bit too much on the music for 
each of those things. One of the 
biggest action sequences towards 
the end felt slightly reliant on 
the sudden burst of sound to 
startle the audience, when the 
screams and movement on stage 
were just as alarming. These 
effects definitely added to the 
experience, but they crept a bit 
too much into the fore every once 
in a while.
Relationships 
between 
characters 
proved 
to 
be 
a 
central 
element 
throughout 
the play, whether it be Oskar’s 
relationship with Eli, his bully 
or his separated parents. The 
production 
does 
this 
quite 
well 
through 
juxtaposition. 
Slight changes in SMTD Junior 
Bryan 
Chan’s 
portrayal 
of 
Oskar highlighted the other 
characters’ 
current 
struggles 
with relationships. Even Oskar’s 
lonesome 
walks 
across 
the 
stage through the fake snow 
displayed elements of character 
development. 
SMTD 
Sophomore 
Emma 
Steiner’s 
portrayal 
of 
Eli, 

however, 
was 
absolutely 
haunting. 
Every 
action 
she 
performed gave more and more 
depth to her character. From 
every breath she took to every 
scream she belted, it felt as if it 
was coming from a 200 year-old 
vampire. And not the vampires 
that 
“Twilight” 
glamorized: 
Her portrayal was monstrous, 
sickening and terrifying at times, 
yet I felt sympathy for her. I 
wasn’t disgusted, and I wasn’t 
sure why. That level of depth 
from the character, even after 
killing and dining on blood, had 
me concerned for the characters’ 
safety and well-being at times.
The production was dark, 
both physically and conceptually. 
However, while there were small, 
more subtle instances of comic 
relief inserted (and I mean, very 
subtle), the audience seemed to 
crack up at these small moments, 
almost ruining the mood and 
continuity of the performance 
for me. This isn’t necessarily a 
critique of the performance itself, 
just an observation on going to a 
live event. You’re in the space 
with other people, and that adds 
to the aspect of live performance, 
whether you like it to or not. The 
date itself was great, it’s just 
that the atmosphere was a bit 
distracting.
I regret not seeing more 
student theater productions here 
on campus. As someone who has 
only briefly participated on stage, 
I really respect the work these 
students put into their craft, 
and after working on multiple 
projects with actors both in 
and outside of the School of 
Music, Theatre & Dance, I know 
how talented they are. After a 
successful first date, to say that 
I’m excited for more dates with 
the Rude Mechanicals would be 
an understatement. 

RYAN COX
Daily Arts Writer

Simulation 
Theory

Muse

Warner Bros. 
Records

ALBUM REVIEW

Muse does 

not bring any 

new ideas to the 

table despite 

their extensive 

efforts to present 

themselves as 

profound

6A — Monday, November 12, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

