What the Hell happened to Muse?

The release of the incredibly unimaginative Neutron Star Collision has confirmed Muse as a band that can no longer be called 'Good'. Thing is, I didn't see it coming. Black Holes and Revelations was a step down from the previous two, sure, but it was still by no means a bad album: Map of the Problematique and Knights of Cydonia will be considered classic Muse in time to come.

Then about this time last year, United States of Eurasia was released, and I loved it - it promised the album I had been hoping for. The follow-up, Uprising was more...solid, but still quite good. And then there was the much-hyped Exogenesis suite. It was billed to be a culmination of everything Muse had done previously, but alas, it was rubbish. In a way Exogenesis sums up what went wrong: Muse over extended themselves, the majestic classical stylings of Butterflies & Hurricanes from Absolution gave way to pomposity, with classical pretentions that not even Matt Bellamy could achieve successfully. Exogenesis was very much Bellamy's own, and without his less-celebrated but nevertheless essential bandmates he fell flat.

Exogenesis wasn't the only mis-fire. Bellamy doesn't speak French; why then the ridiculous add-on "(Mon Coeur S'ouvre A Ta Voix), and the full-blow Francophone singing? And the flute? WHY WAS THERE A FLUTE! On top of that Undisclosed Desires is comfortably the worst song ever released by Muse, not helped by the tragic hip-hop beat. I could rant for ages about the shortcomings of each individual track.

Is there hope for recovery? I really hope so, but somehow I'm doubtful. They're no less popular than before, if not more so, so it seems unlikely that Muse will suddenly refind that youthful energy that made them such an exciting live - and studio - band.