CALIBRATION (IS PUSHING LUCK AND KEY TOO FAR)

This is undoubtedly one of the strangest ORL solo albums I've heard up to this point, but not quite in the same, surreal way as some of his other material. Calibration is another one of Omar's more abstract, formless takes on his music, but this time around it doesn't end up feeling quiet as vividly experimental or eclectic as material from albums like Manual Dexterity, instead almost feeling like a middle ground between the extremes of his sound while also branching out into becoming entirely its own thing. The album manages to feel quite difficult to pin down in a lot of cases, feeling as if only the bare essentials have been put on display and very rarely feeling like the fully fledged, dense compositions and jams of his past work, instead focusing on one specific element at a time and then devoting every facet of focus to developing that idea. This leads to a lot of bizarre, yet interesting experiments such as with the sparse, noisy opening track Mexico, with its effects laden glitchy sound combined with an ethereal vocal performance making for a rather unique track that encapsulates the idiosyncrasies of the album as a whole very well.

Even the big finale Las Lagrimas de Arakuine, which is easily the most Volta like track here, still sounds rather different to what one might expect when hearing a song labelled as such, instead being closer to an extended outro with a perpetual sense of finality to it more than a song in its own right, closer to one of the instrumental breaks in Frances The Mute, as an example. I think it's an interesting decision that works rather well however, and it's just yet another layer of odd choices that end up contributing to this album's unique vibe. I also find it really cool how many guest musicians from various points in The Mars Volta's career as well as a few others also find their way into this, yet often feel as if they're playing pretty subtle, or at least subdued roles in their respective positions as to never overpower anything else or take attention away from what the song is trying to achieve. Overall this is definitely worth a listen but is strange in a few ways that make it pretty difficult to appreciate on a first or even 2nd listen, at least that's what I felt, but even so, it's a good enough album to be worth sticking with it for a bit to see if it clicks, because once it does, this ends up being some truly compelling material that's got a lot to love about it.

Best tracks: Mexico, Glosa Picaresca Wou Men, Lick the Tilting Poppies, Las Lagrimas de Arakuine