Arriving soon after Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day, Muse's 10th album is a roaring comeback in a similar vein, a widescreen sci-fi blockbuster that combines extraterrestrial speculation with crowd-pleasing entertainment and a warm emotional heart. With their stadium-sized, chart-topping, omnivorous, prog-metal glam-punk maximalism, the Teignmouth trio have long transcended genre labels. Their loyal fanbase would probably embrace any outlandish indulgence right now.
Even so, The Wow! Signal feels super-focussed, densely layered and stacked with killer tunes. Cramming 10 tracks into 45 minutes, this is Muse at their sharpest, eclectic and energised but low on the bloat and bombast that sometimes marred previous albums.
