#NEWMUSIC: MUSE ANNOUNCE TENTH ALBUM” THE WOW! SIGNAL”

Today, GRAMMY® Award-winning English rock titans MUSE announce their forthcoming tenth studio album, The WOW! Signal, out June 26 via Warner Records — find the track list below, and pre-order and pre-save HERE. The announcement was truly out of this world, with MUSE launching the news from space! In partnership with Sent Into Space, the band sent a specially-designed tablet 33km up into the atmosphere to premiere the “Be With You” video, while a second package carried stickers for a limited-edition vinyl release to be claimed by fans.

The WOW! Signal marks MUSE’s first album since 2022’s acclaimed Will Of The People – which premiered at #1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums. Inviting us to dive headlong into the new album’s world, MUSE are sharing the massive opening salvo of a lead single, “Be With You,” alongside a scene-setting official music video starring Ella Balinska (Resident Evil, The Occupant). Listen HERE and watch HERE. 

“Be With You” opens on a huge, humming church organ and Matt Bellamy’s equally epic vocal as he zooms in on a heavy moment: “It seems my light’s been swallowed up, I’ve used up every ounce of luck / I need to leap into the fire, find a higher power, and reach for something new.” But soon enough, the track ignites into driving electronica and, eventually, searing rock as the narrator’s perspective shifts from dejection to resolve: “I feel my life has just begun, it can’t just be with anyone / It’s got to be with you.”

Directed by Nico Paolillo (Deafheaven, BAD OMENS), the “Be With You” video brings this galvanizing moment to life in stunning cinematic detail. As a red halo clings to the moon, Balinska begins to notice odd phenomena and seems pulled out into the night by some greater force. She eventually meets a man moved by the same strange energy, and together they witness a beautiful and terrifying phenomenon.

The WOW! Signal takes its name from one of the most compelling interstellar mysteries of the last century: a powerful 72-second radio burst detected in 1977 originating from the constellation Sagittarius with a bandwidth and intensity that suggested a possible extraterrestrial source. The astronomer who discovered the anomaly famously circled the now-iconic sequence “6EQUJ5” and wrote “WOW!” on the printout beside it — giving the signal its name and cementing its place in scientific and pop-culture lore.

While “Be With You” is only our first glimpse into The WOW! Signal, the common themes between the song and this phenomenon speak to the forces powering MUSE’s new album: a mix of cosmic mystery, existential hope, and the exhilarating possibility of contact with something far greater than ourselves.

MUSE, The WOW! Signal

The Dark Forest

Nightshift Superstar

Shimmering Scars

Cryogen

Be With You

Hexagons

The Sickness In You & I

Unravelling

Hush

Space Debris

ABOUT MUSE

MUSE are Matt Bellamy, Dominic Howard, and Chris Wolstenholme. Their previous album, Will of the People, debuted at #1 in multiple territories globally and marked the band’s seventh consecutive album to debut in the UK top spot. Their 2015 album, Drones, went on to win a GRAMMY Award for Best Rock Album, the band’s second. Since forming in 1994, MUSE have released nine studio albums, selling over 30 million units worldwide. Widely recognized as one of the best live bands in the world, MUSE have won numerous music awards including two GRAMMY Awards, an American Music Award, five MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, eleven NME Awards, and seven Q Awards, amongst others.

#EDITORSNOTE: MR. WILL’S BEST OF 2012

2012 was a memorable year for Music, with several standouts in Music and Film.  I was busier than ever chasing  Stars in the City, with several Celebrities having good reason to visit Toronto this year, including one of the most star-studded TIFFs in recent memory.  Let’s take a walk down Memory Lane in honour what I feel were the most memorable Films, Pop Songs and personal Celebrity Encounters!

 

Top Ten Movies of 2012

1. Argo
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
3. Django Unchained
4. Ted
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. The Hunger Games
7. End of Watch
8. The Sessions
9. Les Misérables
10. Rock of Ages

Top Ten Singles of 2012

1. Brokenhearted – Karmin
2. What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger) – Kelly Clarkson
3. Madness – Muse
4. Midnight City – M83
5. We are Young – fun. ft. Janelle Monáe
6. Dance Again – Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull
7. Skyfall – Adele
8. Wide Awake – Katy Perry
9. Starships – Nicki Minaj
10. Gangnam Style – PSY

 

Top Celebrity Encounters of 2012

Steven Tyler, Paula Abdul, Sheena Easton, Alanis Morissette, Nelly Furtado, Carly Rae Jepsen, PSY, The Wanted, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, fun., Karmin, Emeli Sandé, Adam Lambert, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Quentin Tarantino, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Robin Williams, Jon Voight, Malcolm McDowell, Viggo Mortensen, Matt Dillon, Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe, Linda Hamilton, Ben Affleck, Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Joe Manganiello, Aaron Johnson, Ben Whishaw, Dane DeHaan, Joel Kinnaman, Daniel Radcliffe, Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron, Logan Lerman, Jeremy Irvine, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Michael Shannon, Patrick Wilson, John Krasinski, Adam Sandler, Tracy Morgan, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Mann & Judd Apatow, Allison Williams, Meg Hilty, Lisa D’Amato, Cobie Smulders, Zoe Kazan & Paul Dano, Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Mélanie Laurent, Marisa Tomei, Eva Mendes, Lily Collins, Alice Englert, Elle Fanning, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Hendricks, Kim Kardashian, Seann William Scott, Stephen Amell, Ricki Lake, Connie Chung, Jacky Cheung, George Takei, Mike Smith, Rosie Napravnik, Frankie Dettori, Andy Roddick & Brooklyn Decker and Jeremy Lin.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

#NEWMUSIC: MUSE – “MADNESS”

I’m in love!   Like a Virus, Muse‘s latest Single Madness has crept-up on me and has me in full, infecting me with Mad Muse Syndrome.  After first seeing them perform the Track on Saturday Night Live last month, it has been bubbling-under in my subconscious and after having won the praise of Coldplay‘s Chris Martin and Adam Lambert, it appears the Alternative Rock Track is on its way to becoming a Crossover Track with its  Noir Queen/Prince/George Michael-like inflections.  Is this the sexiest Track of 2012? I’d say so.

The Track from the GRAMMY Award-winning Brit Outfit currently is at number 60 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, but expect that to continue improving in coming weeks. In Canada, it just cracked the Top 50 at number 47 on our Canadian Hot 100 Chart.  It can be found on their sixth Studio Disc from Warner Music, The 2nd Law.

Not only is the Track stunning, its Video is also! Watch the Anthony Mandler-directed Clip in full below:

 

For those of you on Rdio – I recently just joined too!   See what I’m listening to by following me here.

 Listen to Madness on Rdio in full here.

Muse will be live at Air Canada Centre on April 9, 2013.

 

(Photo/video credit: Warner Music)