BEST NEW TRACKS: MUSE - SOMETHING HUMAN

If a sports team fires their coach, they are sure to choose a new one who is the exact opposite. So if the outgoing coach is a strict, take-no-BS drill sergeant, the new one will be a relaxed, player’s coach (meaning they have actual people skills and will put the player’s interests first). Eventually the team will fire the new, interpersonally-adept coach and hire another authoritarian type. Perhaps you have a friend or three whose lovelife takes on a similar pattern.

Bands too can mimic this type of behavior. For today’s example, we’ll look at Muse, the biggest rock band on the planet. Fresh off their politically-charged concept record Drones, — capped by a fully immersive 360-degree World Tour — which spanned 18 months and features over 132 dates — the electro rock trio has gone a different direction.

Their newest single “Something Human” is practically a 180 from Drones, as well as Muse’s other two recent releases “Dig Down” and “Thought Contagion.” A deeply personal song about being burnt out by touring and the general disconnect from other humans in our digital age, “Something Human” also finds them toning down their anthemic approach to songwriting. A tender, simplistic flipside to the dark and foreboding tunes on Drones, this track acts as a reminder of the diverse talents of this band, specifically songwriter Matt Bellamy.

MUSE - SOMETHING HUMAN

“Something Human” is the third track we’ve heard off Muse’s forthcoming studio album, the band’s eighth, due out this November. A title for said album does not seem to exist, as of writing.  Nevertheless, the release has been confirmed and I’m sure an arena world tour is to follow.

And in case Ready Player One failed to satiate your 80’s-based nostalgia, check out the Lance Drake-directed video for “Something Human”. The video seems to exist in the same neon-tinged world as the one for “Thought Contagion,” which was also directed by Drake. The band seems to be building a new world for this record, so maybe that earlier bit about scaling back from Drones is not totally accurate.

According to Bellamy, “The song comes from when you do get a bit burnt out from being on the road for too long.” But even if you’re not a touring musician, you can still relate to the sentiments herein. Think of those moments when you’re so sick of looking at your phone/device that you’d rather chuck it against the wall then look at it for another second. It’s those moments in which technology has failed you and you need a deeper, human connection.

Muse gets it. And on some level, so do the rest of us. We just need to be reminded time and again.

Calvin Paradise is not any one thing. The half-hearted vagabond and forgetful luddite currently resides in Los Angeles and how he spends his time is none of your damned business.