Muse - Showbiz

Muse’s debut album is like a stadium-sized circus sideshow soundtrack, with the slow build vocals and crescendoing arrangements perfectly in tune with one another. For a debut they have a ton of poise, like they’ve been honing their sound in front of big crowds rather than the English club scene. I’ve seen the band compared to Radiohead, but I won’t tolerate such slander in this newsletter. Muse’s distinctive sound has always been theirs alone, pretty much from day 1. And even better, to me, Muse sounds like a band of consummate music fans - they seem to have had influences all over the place. This was a gem.

From the roundup (Some of) The Greatest Albums of 1999.