Unfortunately, I was not wowed by ‘The Wow! Signal’. A maximalist sound and themes of space have worked well for the band in the past - see ‘Supermassive Black Hole’, ‘Starlight’, etc - but there is too much going on here sonically. There’s input from the Crouch End Festival Chorus and London Metropolitan Orchestra here, some French disco influences there, and Ellie Goulding even appears at one point. The colossal soundscape feels unjustified when held up against the lyrics and Matt Bellamy’s delivery of them, both of which fall pretty flat. The band could really benefit from some smarter, more decisive production choices. LT

Out now on Warner