The Mars Volta
Octahedron
Warner Bros. (2009)
why you'll love it: You've always wanted The Mars Volta to be a "normal" band
why you'll hate it: boring as all hell
I've been a Mars Volta fan since day one. To me, the band has always meant "At The Drive-In with more guitar solos" and never pretentious wankery. I love Cedric's insane ramblings just as much as I had in ATDI. The concept of TMV being a bunch of artsy hotheads has never occurred to me, therefore I've never been frustrated by any of their albums.
This is a bad album.
Surprisingly, it's for different reasons than what you'd expect from their detractors. This is a boring album with very little of what makes TMV special. The melodies are very slow and predictable. Cedric's lyrics have no cryptic mystery to them at all. They're, at best, slightly macabre, but not inspiring at all. This album sounds like TMV tried to be a band to appease those who think they are too crazy and artsy. Now they sound like every other boring band.
Huge disappointment. Though I don't think this album is a sign of things to come. Every TMV album has sounded different thus far. They just picked a dud of a style this time.
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