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Album-Review: The Mars Volta – The Mars Volta

Legendary Latin American progressive rock outfit The Mars Volta return with a self-titled album 10 years after their last project "Nocturniquet". With it, they continue the trend they started with 2009s "Octahedron": a poppier, less chaotic and sophisticatedly produced style.

Legendary Latin American progressive rock outfit The Mars Volta return with a self-titled album 10 years after their last project Nocturniquet. With it, they continue the trend they started with 2009s Octahedron: a poppier, less chaotic and sophisticatedly produced style. Only one song on The Mars Volta passes the 4-minute mark, the songs don’t lead into each other building towards something larger and they don’t derail into controlled chaos. Instead, Cedric Bixler-Zavala overtakes the mix with his vocals and delivers his most personal, romantic and straight-forward lyrics ever – a stark contrast to the cryptical, neologistical and metaphorical work he’s known for.

A similar case can be made for his partner-in-crime, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, as the album features his most stripped-back and simple guitar work so far for the band as well as his most conventional production. However, there’s still a lot of interesting layers to the band’s arrangements which make this an album best suited for headphones. It isn’t the album your looking for when you want to listen to The Mars Volta though. Omar and Cedric seem more like a duo on this one than ever and they fail to bring the eccentricity and energy to the table, The Mars Volta are known and loved for. The new album rarely rocks and rarely confuses. It is their first project that really is pleasant to listen to, but it roughly is anything more. Yes, there are emotionally and technically intriguing moments, but none of the songs can keep up with their stronger material. While they may not aim to, they at least could’ve been written to the point, because as it is, some of them seem half-baked and many don’t reach a satisfying conclusion; they just end out of nowhere, like The Mars Volta didn’t know where to go with them. This is nothing new for the band if you think about though. They always loved these abrupt endings to a movement. The difference now is that these movements are individual songs and not parts of an epic. Thus some of the experiences may seem pointless in the end.

Despite the criticism, I still find myself interested in returning to the album – and I also admire the passion the two songwriters seem to have towards this new project. There’s nothing but respect to be had for these talented musicians, even if they don’t release the most groundbreaking and wild music anymore. By making this new album a self-titled one, they further clarify that these times are gone. They confidently redefine what The Mars Volta stands for and once again, they found a niche uniquely their own. Let’s hope they can improve on it.

7 / 10

  1. Blacklight Shine | 85
  2. Graveyard Love | 80
  3. Shore Story | 70
  4. Blank Condolences | 75
  5. Vigil | 75
  6. Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon | 75
  7. Cerulea | 80
  8. Flash Burns From Flashbacks | 75
  9. Palm Full Of Crux | 80
  10. No Case Gain | 55
  11. Tourmaline | 75
  12. Equus 3 | 80
  13. Collapsible Shoulders | 65
  14. The Requistion | 75