Of the bands that have made the most legitimate bids for inheriting the mantel that Radiohead has, at times, seemingly left up for grabs. (Until they re-established their claim on Radioheadness with Hail to the Thief) I'd say that Travis and Muse, in their prime, looked like the most likely candidates. Travis officially abdicated any such promise with the release of the heartbreakingly unmemorable 12 Memories – their 4th album; and now we have Black Holes and Revelations (Muse' 4th album) that if nothing else has significantly weakened their chances.

By no means is this new Muse opus the debacle that was 12 Memories, but the band certainly seems to have switched over to auto-pilot. Before I'm done here, I'll have done justice to Black Holes which, in all fairness, has its share of solid moments, despite its seemingly uninspired play-it-safe sensibility. It's fascinating, well . . . somewhat interesting anyway, to examine the parallels one can chart between Muse' and Travis' lifelines. First of all, I must allow that the music of Travis and Muse are not particularly similar, they do however mine from the two major musical veins of Radiohead, and do so (did so) in a way that isn't (wasn't) particularly plagiaristic.

Both bands debut albums were mostly well received by fans and critics, both pointed to worlds of promise, but were definitely uneven overall. (In the opinion of this writer Travis debut was the stronger record). Interestingly it was both bands second albums that vaulted them into universal praise, and lofty status among their peers. There's little doubt that Origins of Symmetry and The Man Who . . are two of the best records of the 21st century. Both bands' follow-ups to their masterpieces were not quite up to snuff in terms of their predecessors, but were both solid records that secured the position of both bands and certainly gave no indication that either had lost so much as a half step.

At this point I have to admit that the amazing point I was driving toward is not quite as dramatic as I'd first imagined. The point being, that Black Holes and Revelations is not nearly as weak as I'd thought after my first few spins. True there is precious little on the album that we haven't already heard over the course of their career, but it is, by no means, the 12 Memories train wreck that has, for all intents and purposes, taken Travis out of the game.

Muse seems content and intent as ever to continue down their arpeggio-pounding drumfill-happy Queen/ELP/Radiohead retro-prog path that they've been on since Showbiz. Like Showbiz, their newest includes three slow ballads (two back to back "A Soldier's Poem" and the remarkably Travis-esque "Invincible.") similar, but by no means equal to the brilliant and haunting "Unintended" the track from their debut that did more to announce to the world that Muse would be a force to be reckoned with than any other song then or since. The multi-talented Matthew Bellamy is a genius by any standards and his keyboard solo that sounds like a guitar solo at the end of "Invincible" is a definite highlight of the album.

Other highlights include Bellamy's Brian May-ed to order guitar solo on "Exo-politics, and the salsa/flamenco stylings on the following "City of Delusion." Overall, Black Holes and Revelations is a strong enough release to keep their fans plenty happy and their detractors somewhat silent. I will say, however, that if there isn't a significant change in their approach to songcraft (lyrical improvement wouldn't hurt) and at least a little maturation as far as their pomp and circumstance and instrumental grandstanding – their next record may very well prove to be the 12 Memories that this record manages to sidestep. I certainly hope so, it's just possible that Muse may yet boot up an O.K. Computer.