O2 Academy Brixton, London, April 03
Seeing the letters ‘M-U-S-E’ spelt out, overhanging the iconic entrance to Brixton Academy, doesn’t feel like it should be real in 2026.
It’s been a quarter of a century since Muse last graced the sloped floor of arguably South London’s most iconic venue, for two shows in May 2001 around their sophomore record ‘Origin Of Symmetry’. Yet, after a typically frenetic rush for tickets, 5,000 lucky punters find themselves queuing around the block for this intimate, one-and-done glimpse into their next era and their upcoming 10th album, ‘The Wow! Signal’.
Having hibernated for most of 2024, a rapid-fire run of international festival dates last summer hinted at activity within camp Muse. In June, they served up an appetiser through ‘Unravelling’, a volatile single that jolted between the band at their most metal and decadent dark-pop. Last month, the grandiose ‘Be With You’ sealed the deal by revealing the album (and the next morning, this Brixton show) on a tablet they sent 33km up, in touching distance of the final frontier.
Perhaps a typically ambitious trick for the Teignmouth trio to pull off, tonight’s venue sees that go-big-or-go-home spirit plummet back down to Earth. Although Brixton Academy might be the endgame venue for plenty of bands, in truth, it’s pocket-sized for Muse and their ordinarily heavyweight productions. Teed up as the first ‘live transmission’ of this chapter, all bets are off for tonight’s setlist – a rare scenario for Muse fans to find themselves in.
As the lights finally go down and ‘Interlude’ is jammed out as the trio strolls onto the stage, to then erupt into ‘Hysteria’, straight out of the blocks, is an immense power move. Overstimulating shades of blue take over the backdrop, styled in four pillars that almost resemble The 1975’s once-signature LED towers. Deeper cut ‘Map Of The Problematique’ is met with instant cheers and clap-alongs, as the atmosphere inside this famous venue turns even more feverish.
“Do you fancy a new song?” asks Matt Bellamy, later toying with fans to, “Be nice on Reddit, otherwise you’ll break Dom’s heart…” – perhaps referencing the divisive reaction to ‘Be With You’. He’s got nothing to worry about with this particular number, ‘Cryogen’, when the wonky riff sounds like an instant successor to ‘Plug In Baby’. Its four-chord chorus is an efficient and punchy rock recipe that sounds nothing like ‘Unravelling’ or ‘Be With You’, only fuelling more suspense around where ‘The Wow! Signal’ will take Muse’s sound.
The album’s blood-red colour scheme takes centre stage tonight in the form of Matt’s plain t-shirt, Dominic Howard’s drum shells, and – occasionally – bassist Chris Wolstenholme’s light-up fret board. A wordsearch of letters ushers in ‘Unravelling’, as Matt’s extra-breathy verse vocals make that earth-shaking riff hit like a boxer’s upper cut. In all honesty, it shakes hands with ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ and ‘Plug In Baby’ when it comes to pure impact in the live room. ‘Psycho’, still the sweetheart of ‘Drones’, has a seat at that table as well.
Comfortably the most euphoric number so far, the live debut of ‘Be With You’ is a warm hug of Coldplay-esque pop-rock, even if you might mistake the stained glass windows that accompany it for Bring Me The Horizon’s Church of Genxsis. On Easter weekend, this is the only church where you’ll be showered with confetti, as our master of ceremonies gallivants around the stage. The track is unashamedly Muse, and the faithful before them are already treating it like a fan favourite; 5,000 strangled cats whining Matt’s falsetto right back at him.
That’s as far as we go regarding ‘The Wow! Signal’, as the focus shifts backwards. “The last time we played here was 25 years ago, when we were little kids,” recalls Matt. “Who was here? Was anyone here? I think we played this one.” He heads over to the piano, guitar draped over his back, to unleash ‘New Born’, which is surprisingly trailed by a snippet of Deftones’ ‘Headup’. “That’s from the good old days right there,” he smiles, that quarter of a century suddenly feeling like five minutes.
Producer-turned-keyboardist Dan Lancaster takes over guitar duties for ‘Uprising’, sandwiched between ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ and ‘Knights Of Cydonia’ in an absolutely ridiculous triple-header. The latter, predictably, is the night’s apex point, as the timeless riff-drop startles the bright house lights into flashes of pandemonium, which are matched by the mosh pits on the floor. Whilst ‘Unintended’ and ‘The 2nd Law: Isolated System’ give the show the breathing space it needs, before a sinister map of a world on fire distracts attention away from the Queen-tinged ‘United States Of Eurasia’. Inevitably, it’s ‘Starlight’ that takes us home, before an overexcited Matt spills the news that, “We’ll be back in November”, presumably in some arena on the other side of town.
Refusing to give too much away, Muse fans arguably leave Brixton Academy with more questions than answers over the direction of ‘The Wow! Signal’. Appeased by plenty of hits and the unique chance to stare into the whites of Matt Bellamy’s eyes, the show is a balanced teaser trailer for what might come. But, as they separately lean into different aspects of Muse’s history, the claim has been definitively laid for ‘Be With You’, ‘Cryogen’ and ‘Unravelling’ to justify their places in any 90-minute setlist.
Judging by tonight’s signals, you can consider us wowed.
