The article examines the paradox of Muse: despite being frequently mocked or treated as uncool, the British band continues to fill stadiums, headline festivals and sell records. It argues that their lack of broad critical prestige stems less from their success than from their unapologetically theatrical style, which many listeners find excessive but fans experience as cathartic.

Muse’s defining traits include Matt Bellamy’s high falsetto, huge guitar-driven arrangements, influences from Queen, Pink Floyd and classical music, and lyrics about surveillance, technology, conspiracies and apocalypse. Their new album, ‘The Wow! Signal’, continues this approach, using the 1977 radio signal as a metaphor for anxiety and uncertainty; the article suggests Bellamy’s apparent conspiratorial themes are primarily emotional attempts to make sense of a confusing world.