BLIND WORMS, PIOUS SWINE

Normally I start off album reviews by saying this is the 1st or 2nd album by so and so. With Omar Rodriguez - Lopez I am actually in disbelief the amount of records he has released as a solo artist. Never mind what he has done with his various other bands - Mars Volta, At the drive-in etc. "Blind Worms Pious Swine" is the 29th ALBUM by Omar! This was released in 2016 and he has released 20 more albums since then! Although its clear he is a very busy man, some of these albums were stock piled as they were recorded between 2008 and 2013. But even still he is a total machine.

I did keep on top of his releases in the early days but found myself going off him a bit. And then when he announced in 2016 he was releasing 11 albums which were to be released every fortnight I just could not keep up. I thought this was just too much and wanted to listen to more than just one artist. But what made me come back now? Well I was listening to Mars Volta on Spotify, then after the album finishes it goes into similar tracks which they think you'll like. A track called "Lights" off of "Blind Worms Pious Swine" came on and I absolutely loved it. Interestingly this is a cover of the Ellie Goulding song and is the only cover of a song ever to feature on an Omar album.

As you would imagine with a solo album, Omar takes control of most things, such as guitars, synth, bass and some of the vocals. But also featuring on this album is Deantoni Parks on drums. And also Teri Gender Bender on main vocals from Les Butcherettes. The first 7 tracks on this album do have do vary from song to song and it is just really nice melodic alternative music. But it has this extra edge to it due to Omar's musicianship. These songs would sound good in basic form but Omar always adds these extra effects or guitar wizardry just to take the tracks to the next level.

The thing is the first 7 tracks feel like the first half of the album. If you are listening from track 8 onwards for the first time it is a bit of a surprise in a way. But if you have heard Omar at all in the past its probably not really surprising at all! And this is a very good thing. The vocals disappear on the last 4 tracks and it just sounds like a full on jam session. It is marvellous.

Although I never really stopped listening to At the Drive-in and the Mars Volta. This album has really made me want to get into more of Omar's solo stuff again. This album shows that even if you didn't like some of the album. You do need to listen to it all the way through as you just don't know what is around the corner.

Admittedly, when beginning on the IPECAC recordings with ORL, I wasn't expecting a whole lot to reach the level of greatness that Sworn Virgins had displayed, let alone for such a feat to be achieved a mere 2 other albums into this series, but yeah, this absolutely fits that bill, albeit with an extremely different approach to what Sworn Virgins had in mind. Similarly to Corazones, this shows Omar taking on a far more pop-oriented approach to his songwriting, but instead of the distinct tinge of indie rock that was present there, he goes in a more psychedelic direction, bringing in some light electronic elements along with once again making use of all sorts of vocal effects, with the interesting difference of them certainly not being utilsed to the same extent as normal. It leaves the album in this great middle ground of sounding quite strange while still having that grounded side to it that complements the style well. Songs like Vanishing Tide and Lights showcase this particularly well with the way they have such clear, beautiful melodies thrown onto a backdrop of vaguely uncanny soundscapesthat serve to elevate the listening experience. The curveball of the final 4 tracks being this instrumental suite that is far more conventionally prog was also a cool think to see, especially given how strong their sense of momentum was thanks to that repetitive bassline, closing the album in an unexpected, yet undeniably welcome way that added another layer of idiosyncracy to it all. The album that I'll recommend people who were disappointed about The Mars Volta's self- titled album and wanted to see a more interesting take on pop from them, even though this album only has ORL on it.