Battle of the Bands 08.18.09: Muse vs. Sick Puppies

Posted by Adam Battagello on 08.18.2009

The massive sound of Muse is back on our airwaves, but can they overcome the impressive Sick Puppies?

Welcome one and all to yet another ‘edge of your seats' installment of Battle of the Bands. Before we get down to the oh so exciting business that we deal with week in week out, I have managed to dig up some rather rough footage of the White Album tribute concert I was lucky enough to attend recently.

I'm not sure if it comes through particularly well in this (very) choppy footage, but this cover of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps' was undoubtedly the highlight of a ridiculously impressive night, and more than did justice to the four lads from Liverpool. I've seen my fair share of concerts in my young life, and this one ranked among the best of them.

Now I can only wait impatiently for the inevitable DVD and CD release…

ONTO THE FACE-OFF


This Week:
Muse- Uprising vs. Sick Puppies- You're Going Down




Muse is in many ways an oddity in the modern music scene. The group seems to be a throwback to the days of stadium rock, where bands were larger than life and able to capture the imaginations of tens of thousands packed into an arena. In a modern music scene where it seems in fashion to be strumming out simple pop punk tunes, Muse defied the trend with the sonic exploration that was their mammoth 2006 feat ‘Black Holes in Revelations'. Now the group is looking to continue their recent dominance of the modern rock scene with their new single ‘Uprising' from the soon to be released album ‘The Resistance'.


The Sick Puppies, since making a name for themselves by having their 2006 song ‘All the Same' featured in the mammoth ‘Free Hugs Campaign' (which if you haven't seen by now go have a look at) have been on a musical roll of sorts. The group's 2007 sophomore release ‘Dressed Up as Life' managed to crack the Billboard 200 charts at number 181 while their 2009 release ‘Tri Polar' debuted impressively at 31. While the lead single ‘You're Going Down' was well received enough to give Sick Puppies their first top 10 single on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, will it be enough to help them pull out a win in a battle against the likes of Muse? Let's find out.

Muse- Uprising


As I briefly mentioned earlier, the last album released by Muse, 2006's ‘Black Holes and Revelations' was both a critical and commercial monster. The album gave Muse some of their most successful singles to date including ‘Starlight' and my personal favorite ‘Knights of Cydonia' which charted well not only in the band's UK homeland, but also saw success in the ever elusive United States. Riding on the accolades of this album, Muse was able to pack out historic venues around the world including Madison Square Garden and Wembley Stadium. I guess, taking this into account, you couldn't blame the group if they were feeling just a little pressure when attempting to live up to this previous accomplishment with their newest album ‘The Resistance' and the first single of said album ‘Uprising'.

The single largely follows on from the same progressive sonic exploration that the group have been working with for some time now, the song pulls you in instantly with a driving bass line accompanied by some rather impressive synth work. For a while, I had been of the opinion that modern musicians had basically done synthesizer experimentation to death, but what can I say, Muse does it well.

Something that has left me rather soured on certain past releases by Muse is the failure of lead singer Matthew Bellamy to really push his vocal range. The guy has one of the best falsettos going around in modern rock music, yet singles such as ‘Uprising' don't really do justice to what the man is capable of pulling off.

Lyrically, while not as catchy as past Muse works such as ‘Invincible', ‘Uprising' is not without a charm of its own, the highlight being the "We will be victorious" portion of the chorus. Ironically, this segment is also one of the few places in the song where Bellamy really tries out his vocal range, and it makes for good listening.

In all honesty, as much as the group has a reputation of reinvention and innovation, ‘Uprising' would be as much at home amongst the tracks on ‘Black Holes and Revelations' as it will be on ‘The Resistance'. I have a sneaking suspicion that this track, and possibly the album as a whole, will really be the one to split Muse fans down the middle. Some will love the group continuing on the same musical themes from their previous release, others will be disillusioned with an apparent lack of progression.

But that will be their battle, this one is mine…

Moving On!

Sick Puppies- You're Going Down


When I first purchased the ‘Sick Puppies EP' I can remember thinking one thing. This band will take some getting used to. Sure, the obvious winner ‘All the Same' was included on the five track EP, but others such as ‘Asshole Father' and ‘My World' just came across as immature and, dare I say, gave the impression of one wallowing in their own self pity. This may be attractive for some music listeners, but, to put it like a hippy, it really just harshed my mellow.

With this memory in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Sick Puppies new track ‘You're Going Down'. This is the sound of a band that has grown and matured with time, as you would expect any young group with a hope for a future to do. Unlike prior releases which, as I mentioned, seemed to have a very introverted, abusive theme, ‘You're Going Down' is the result of directing that anger and passion outwards, and it easily makes for a better tune. Man, I've never felt my like Doctor Phil then when I just gave that analysis.

As much as I may be crucified for saying this, the sort of nonsensical screaming and yelling that can accompany this sort of hard rock has never really been my thing. Lead singer Shimon Moore does have an impressive voice, and for a majority of the song I enjoy the path he takes, it's just when he tends towards this more aggressive vocal approach that he sort of loses this reviewer along the way.

There can only be one!

This week, despite certain criticisms with the song, I am going to have to side with Muse based largely on one fact. While, Muse's new track may not sound overly different from their past work, it does sound completely different from a majority of the rest of the modern music scene. While the Sick Puppies track has its high points, it is nothing that I can't hear from a slew of other bands on the market. In short, Muse have pioneered an individualistic sound which continues with ‘Uprising', whereas the Sick Puppies ‘You're Going Down' seems to be the cut copy sound of many other groups out there today.

That's what I think, how about you?


Until next week, happy battling.