The bedlam that is the Mars Volta.

^ when do people really agree on albums though? IIRC though it was a more polarising album, lots of people hated it and lots of people thought it was what TMV needed to do after Bedlam. Maybe the 'hate it' crew were just bigger or more vocal

Awesome band! I've been getting into their stuff lately, having bought all five of their albums off Amazon recently. Of those five, I've only really explored De-Loused, Frances the Mute and Octahedron so far- Amputechture didn't quite click on the first listen and Bedlam is a bit of a mess, so I have those to come, really. Frances is definitely my favourite as of now.

As far as Octahedron goes, I really enjoyed the album. It doesn't have the same depth as, say, Frances, but, then, that's not the point of the album. Its point is to show that the Mars Volta don't need to fall back on old ground to write music that rocks. I'm really looking forward to the next album- I want to see where the Mars Volta will go next. But then, that's the same for all of us, right?

Also, putting my two pennies' worth into the earlier discussion from the other page, I have never managed to make sense of any of the Mars Volta's lyrics. I've never managed to get anything from Frances beyond bewilderment and fascination, lyrically speaking. I guess I just haven't listened to it enough. It doesn't help that I'm not very good at absorbing lyrics, so I've put it down to something that I'll either get over time, or not at all.

I do love Cedric's singing, though. I think his voice is fantastic, and so emotive, even when I haven't got a clue what he's singing about.


Edited by Elderflower Man - October 29 2010 at 07:23

I love this insane performance on Letterman. It must have left the audience stunned, and shown up the house band..

TMV on Letterman

Edited by Blacksword - October 30 2010 at 08:12

ptkc123 wrote: http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/news/the-mars-volta-our-album-is-almost-done

This gave me an instant boner.  Something tells me that the album will be my album-of-the-year for 2011.

These guys are great! I first heard de-loused in high school and I was immediately hooked! I've since listened to frances the mute and octahedron which I appreciated but not as much as de-loused. One of my favorite albums of the new millennium!  

The new album does sound promising, I for one thought Octahedron was somewhat of a return to form after Bedlam.

I hope to see Cedric to do some vocal work on this new album that he can actually do, seeing Omar let go of the reins for this project.  Alot of the more recent live preformances his vocals are kinda rough, and he gets alot of critisism for it.  Though i am still seduced by his voice

Edited by Horizons - February 05 2011 at 14:55

Here's a few updates:

Horizons wrote: “Sorry no spanish on this record, no Zeppelinesque voyages, no Santana like flourishes or vishnu accuasations. No congas, no Hammond organ stabs, no 30 minute songs, no drums that sounds like mosquitos buzzing in your ear. Just future punk. That’s the only way to describe it from my point of view.” Sounds like "At the Drive-in".. Really hope they sustain the creative energy.

Horizons wrote: Hope you're right.