Along with now doing book reviews, I am going to be reviewing all types of media. Being human, I presuppose that my interests are also of interest to all of you. Along with this presupposition (I’m so smart), I believe that my interests have not only set a bar in excellence that the rest of the world should be striving to achieve, but I believe that everyone would be completely lost without my guidance. As much as I am mocking this thought, I still believe it. Silly as it may seem, you all believe it too. But enough of that. Sit back and let me exercise this savior complex of mine.
This will be the first compact disc review I have ever done for this blog. (If you are reading this blog in the future, a compact disc was something that was awesome. It wasn’t a series of 1’s and 0’s that now float solely through your I-Tunes or MP3Toilet.com or whatever Internet application now services your musical needs. It was a series of 1’s and 0’s compiled on a round piece of plastic that I could carry around and show off to my friends, take on a trip, or listen to in my car. I didn’t have to consult my failing PC everytime I wanted to listen to Fountains of Wayne, I just grabbed it out of my leather-bound case. I think you get the point. It was amazing. Enjoy your new Timbaland single because I assume Cds are obsolete now too. Man the future sucks already.)
This review will be a part of a series I call “Under the Radar.” These aren’t brand spanking new albums. (By the way, Brand “Spanking” New? Why Spanking? I hate tradition.) These are albums that may have been out for a while. Yet, I believe they need revisiting because they have not gotten the credit they deserve and in a way have flown under the radar.
Tonight’s Album: The Mars Volta – Octahedron
This album was a very unexpected turn for the Mars Volta. After their critically acclaimed effort “Deloused in the Comatorium,” they seemed to keep adding new members. While I do know that from the very onset they utilized other musicians, for example Flea from the currently unimaginative Red Hot Chili Peppers, played bass on Deloused. Yet, after that album dropped I kept on hearing about them acquiring new members. Most notably former At The Drive In band mate Paul Hinojos dropped his role in the band Sparta to join the onslaught of new musicians. While they managed to hold it together for their second release “Frances the Mute”, this rise in numbers coupled with the fact that they began to favor noise over melody made for the half-hearted attempt that was their third album, “Amputecture” While tracks such as “Viscera Eyes” has it’s moments, you can actually hear the musicians put their heads up their own arses throughout most of the album. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez didn’t even play guitar on it. John Frusciante of the aforementioned currently unimaginative Red Hot Chili Peppers played guitar on the album. While I hope it was fun for the band, it certainly wasn’t incredibly pleasing to their audience. Needless to say, the band was losing fans as they continued to welcome in new band members. This juggernaut of a sloppily put together supergroup was losing its focus.
It seemed my worst fears continued to materialize as I received the news that drummer Jon Theodore left. I loved “Deloused in the Comatorium” and I know a big reason for that was his presence on the album. While new drummer Thomas Pridgen's presence on their 4th album “Bedlam in Goliath” makes me feel like his free time is filled primarily with doing speed and watching Neil Pert solos, it was a solid album. It was cohesive, it made sense, and it was done all while reminding listeners why we loved The Mars Volta in the first place.
Which now brings me to their latest effort Octahedron. This album finds The Mars Volta’s sound very stripped down. Not only did they fire some of the band, including Hinojos which I am not too happy about, they wrote what Rodriguez-Lopez calls their “acoustic album.” While this album does feature more acoustic guitar than their previous releases, this is by no means an “acoustic” album. It is a more relaxed sound, but the songs are still big. They feel more intentional and contained rather than improvisational and disconnected. While they still have familiar staples such as bizarre song titles likes, “Halo of Nembutals”, this is a new direction for that band that I feel is exactly what they needed. While I could try to sit down and describe every fill and riff contained within Octahedron, I feel like it wouldn’t come across well and frankly that sounds like too much work for me.
I do not know why this album was not pushed by Universal as much as their previous releases, but I feel like this is one of the best albums in the Mars Volta’s canon. Years after the disintegration of At The Drive In and 4 albums deep into their new project, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez still continue to make great music. While they may lose their way here and there, Octahedron shows that they are still one of the more important bands rock music has right now.
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