There was a time, way back when, when Muse were one of the most exciting rock bands in the world: when phenomenal records like 2001’s ‘Origin of Symmetry’ and 2003’s ‘Absolution’ were coming at you thick and fast, when ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ made the Twilight soundtrack, those were the days. The band’s output since then has varied from decently strong (in the case of 2009’s ‘The Resistance’) to dismally poor— here’s looking at you ‘Will Of The People,’ which is surely the definitive low point in Muse’s catalogue. That’s even easier to say now that new record ‘The Wow! Signal’ is here: these ten tracks wipe the floor with everything the band have put out in the last twenty years.

Muse have been falling into the same pitfalls for the last two decades— the unfortunate electronic excursions of ‘The 2nd Law,’ the faux-rebellious rhetoric of ‘Drones’ and the Queen-pastiches of ‘The Resistance’ have all tripped the group up time and time again— and truth be told, ‘The Wow! Signal’ isn’t completely divorced from these same issues. There was ample reason to be worried after single ‘Be With You’ came crashing in, throwing its sentimental lyrical themes and massively overblown organs in your face: the album’s other ballads, namely the piano-driven ‘Shimmering Scars’ and the ambient closer ‘Space Debris’ are no less sappy or melodramatic either, even if they’re not quite as blunt in their presentation. It’s easy to imagine how, as part of another tracklist, the Dua Lipa-esque dance pop of ‘Nightshift Superstar’ and the Ellie Goulding feature on ‘Hush’ would be written off as yet more failed experiments from a past-their-prime rock outfit, desperate to reclaim a semblance of their former success. Why, then, does ‘The Wow! Signal’ continue to delight at every turn?

For one, this is the first Muse album is a long time that feels comfortable in its own skin, like Bellamy and company are aware of, and proud of, the success of 2006’s ‘Black Holes and Revelations.’ ‘Cryogen’ may be the most obvious example, pulling out a screeching guitar tone and triumphant lead melody that veers far too close to ‘Plug In Baby’ for comfort— the track is derivative, certainly, but rocks so hard on account of its technical bass breaks and bulbous riffs that it’s honestly difficult to care. ‘Hexagons,’ similarly, is yet another expansive space-epic from the crew, throwing together cinematic synth arpeggios, grandiose guitar tapping and monstrous chord changes into a song that feels like classic Muse, through-and-through. Oftentimes, ‘The Wow! Signal’ is winking at its audience, like the record is self-aware that the galloping verses of ‘The Dark Forest’ are ripped straight from ‘Knights of Cydonia.’ Muse only get away with such blatant self-parody because their fans have been starved of these tricks for so long, and because the band themselves are having such obvious fun with the material.

‘Fun’ is the key word there, and thank goodness for that— Matt Bellamy is no cutting-edge revolutionary, and it’s a relief to see the meaningless buzzwords that choked ‘Will Of The People’ done away with at last. The full-blown dance music of ‘Nightshift Superstar,’ complete with some gnarly bass work from Wolstenholme, is a silly idea on paper, and a downright ridiculous one in practice: it’s also, due in no small part to the group’s tongue-in-cheek approach, a blast. The track sits, almost comically, alongside some of the heaviest material the group have ever penned, with the crushing breakdown of lead single ‘Unravelling’ and the unbridled rock exhibition that is ‘The Sickness In You & I’ both going right for the jugular. Here, on their tenth studio album, Muse have thrown all caution to the wind, and it’s a gamble that tends to pay off. Not every idea here is a winner— ‘The Dark Forest’ is a jumbled collection of influences, while ‘Space Debris’ can’t seem to conjure up much of anything— but at the end of the day, the guitar solo on ‘Shimmering Scars’ is one of many moments where Muse finally, finally, bring it all home.

There are a plethora of criticisms you could levy against ‘The Wow! Signal,’ many of which we’ve just outlined: it’s full of silly ideas, overblown ballads and disparate ideas, all of which fall in the shadow of the band’s best work. And yet, even having said all of that, the fact remains that Muse are back. This is no ‘Absolution,’ but it sure kicks the crap out of ‘Simulation Theory— this is a record that outperforms all our hopes and expectations, if not ‘Black Holes and Revelations.’