ALBUM REVIEW: The Mars Volta – The Mars Volta
It has been 10 years since THE MARS VOLTA last graced our ears with a new release, a long time that has seen a hiatus, break-up, and reformation, following the fallout between founding and sole constant members Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala and their subsequent rekindling of friendship, with a healthy addition of their preceding band AT THE DRIVE-IN also taking up some of the time in-between, amongst other projects.
This eponymous release, however, sees a definite shift in the main direction of their sound. There are no loud, in-your-face tracks such as fan favourite Inertiatic E.S.P. or even The Whip Hand or Dyslexicon from their previous release, 2012’s Nocturniquet. There is a more low-fi, electronic feel overall and while there are still some of the complex drum rhythms, on a more down low kind of feel, it’s a much more laid-back affair than anyone will be used to for the entirety of a MARS VOLTA release.
Blacklight Shine and Vigil have been pre-released with videos to promote the album prior to release, with both serving to promote the album well, giving a clear indication of the aural direction that they have taken for this release. It feels almost strange, as you listen through waiting for that moment where Bixler-Zavala decides it’s time to scream in your face almost, such have been some of their previous sonic attacks, that it never fully arrives, with the potential exception of No Case Gain, a more rock track in comparison to the rest. It actually almost feels anticlimactic for the first couple of listens, yet once you move past that expectation, you realise quite what a mature, well-written release this actually is.
Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala seem to have taken that step for this release to focus more on the delicate side of what they can create and it shows in what is actually a pretty gorgeous and immensely likable release, albeit one that may possibly alienate the parts of their fan base that only want that louder, more aggressive end of their musical spectrum. It comes across almost like a coming-of-age release, perhaps suggesting that their song-writing is coming from a less angry, more introspective place than previously and serves to demonstrate quite how criminally underrated they are by some sectors of the music press.
All of the musical fluidity is there from their previous releases, just a lack of their more ferocious, uncaged side of the beast. The Mars Volta is a well-composed and produced effort that shows a continued high standard of writing the band have established across their other previous releases. While they have maybe taken a risk in deciding to shine a light solely on what they can create in their softer sphere, it’s a light that is justly deserved for that more delicate side and one that provides intrigue for where the future of this enigmatic act quite may lie sonically.
Rating: 7/10
The Mars Volta is out now via Clouds Hill.
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