The Mars Volta
Read a biog, and The Mars Volta’s inception was one spawned ‘in order to dispose of labels and limitations of any kind, to move beyond genres strip-mined into obsolescence – be they dinosaur prog or 2-D punk.’
Right.
Or.
In 2001, The Mars Volta marked the latest hi-fi project from former At The Drive-In space-cadets Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala. ATDI proved the benchmark for a raging entrance into a new millennium; a lost band, in many senses, yet whose influence transcends their brief time-span in nihilistic, brutal and enraged live performance and, occasionally, captivating songcraft (‘The Relationship Of Command’ remains a contemporary classic).
To follow such gallivants by assembling an outfit of similar zeal and acclaim is scarce. But talent such as Rodriguez and Bixler is scarce. Two albums have surfaced to prove such truths – a debut, ‘De-Loused In The Comatorium’ and 2005’s ‘Frances The Mute’. Hundreds of thousands of these have shifted, somehow, without any conventional ‘hit’ or marketing-campaign to back the cause. It’s the old school way of working. Like something. Tell someone. Share.
One thing’s for sure; the free-range, spiralling and wall-of-sound nuance that graces each and every one of the Mars’ epic odes is enough to cause tremors in the pants for any self-indulgent nouveau muso attempting in earnest to be new. This is music.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Unshockingly elaborate Flash-type effort from the boys Volta.
AT THE DRIVE-IN: The good ole days… A new retrospective from ATDI is out now – here’s a dedicated site.
SINGLE-REVIEW – ‘INERTIATIC ESP’ 2003: TMV in top-40 shocker. Well, it wasn’t exactly expected, was it? Great accompanying video for this, too.
ALBUM-REVIEW – ‘DE-LOUSED IN THE COMATORIUM’ 2003: the startling, multifarious debut that caught us all thrillingly off-guard two years back.
ALBUM REVIEW – ‘FRANCES THE MUTE’ 2005: this year’s mighty, mighty opus. It’s a sure-fire headf**k. But a rewarding one, at least.
CONCERT REVIEW – LONDON ASTORIA 2003: a mesmerising two-night display at the Astoria, back-flips and all.
SPECIAL FEATURES – ‘FRANCES THE MUTE’ BLIP 2005: ‘preview’ tracks from one of the year’s finer, albeit bizarre, new releases. And then buy it.