Mars Volta turns rambling, pretentious
Rambling lyrics and disjointed songs mean few bright spots for Mars Volta album.
Published Sept. 8, 2006
The Mars Volta isn't fooling anyone anymore.
With its third full-length release, Amputechture, the band has transformed into a one-trick pony — albeit a drug-riddled, psychedelic one.
Free from the constraints of a central storyline-based album, the band shaped eight disjointed tracks that don't contain the zeal and surprise once found on Mars Volta recordings.
The sharp tempo shifts, over-embellished noise segments and progressive-rock guitar solos serve as constant reminders of what was once great and innovative.
When the band is not assailing listeners with extended periods of meaningless noise, mellower tracks like "Vicarious Atonement" and "El Ciervo Vulnerado" roam endlessly.
It's a major disappointment when these songs drag on for more than seven minutes and sound more like the outtakes from a haunted house soundtrack than anything interesting.
Composer/guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez leads the band with an up-and-down rhythm on "Viscera Eyes," one of the few standout moments on Amputechture.
Suspiciously, it's remarkably similar to "L' Via L' Viaquez" from its sophomore full-length effort, Frances The Mute.
"Meccamputechture," on the other hand, crosses the border to the realm of annoying music.
This is Buena Vista Social Club led by Ted Nugent on acid. The song, peaking and winding over the same paths, ends up convoluted and weighted down by its monotony.
Simple classification for Mars Volta remains nearly impossible on Amputechture.
Following the progressive-rock mess that is the aforementioned "Meccamputechture," vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez express their love for traditional Spanish music through "Asilos Magdelena." The piece is sung entirely in Spanish over placid, acoustic guitar.
As repetitive as Amputechture might be, the talent that went into this project is undeniable, particularly in the rhythm section. "Day of the Baphomets" begins with one of bassist Juan Alderete de la Peña's most awe-inspiring bass lines.
Drummer Jon Theodore's prowess is almost limitless, and Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Omar's younger brother, lends his percussion talents to produce a moment of ingenious collaboration near the end of the track.
The bright side of this otherwise dismal record is that if the band's members are fired, they have a promising future in session work.
A point synonymous with the moniker The Mars Volta, Bixler-Zavala's lyrics still read like a narcotics-induced nightmare of Hunter S. Thompson proportions: poachers, wolves and corpses, oh my.
Production in the vocal department has improved since the last outing, at least.
Bixler-Zavala's high and low ranges are often layered resulting in a spooky effect that mimics the music's flowing nature, much like on the band's first effort, 2002's Tremulant.
The Mars Volta, the pioneering band that once trumpeted the exploration of musical boundaries, has simultaneously developed into a dated copy of itself and cemented its place as one of the most pretentious groups in recent history.
There's just something wrong with having to fast-forward eight minutes into a song to find the stellar moments.
Artist: The Mars Volta
Album: Amputechture
Genre: Avant-garde rock
Released: Sept. 12
Record Label: Universal
Most Listenworthy Track: 'Day of the Baphomets'
Reviewer's Rating: 1 out of 5 Ms
