album of the week: 4.4

The Mars Volta

Noctourniquet

(2012)

why you'll love it: A step back in the right direction after a lull

why you'll hate it: Not as epic or insane as they have been known for

It feels like it's been a whole generation since a Mars Volta album. A lot of contributing factors led to this thought. The At The Drive-in reunion tour, Omar Rodríguez-López's endless solo discography, trying to pretend Octahedron (2009) never existed, and the excellent but not quite Volta El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez album. The Bedlam in Goliath (2008) was the last time The Mars Volta has been able to produce that unique otherworld feeling. With all these distractions, lineup changes, and the constant threat of aging effecting performance; it seems like a reboot would be in better interest than trying to outdo their own reputation.

Noctourniquet feels like a clean slate. Omar has taken more creative control of the band, convincing Cedric Bixler-Zavala to change up the way he writes and even sings. Gone are most of the Freddie Mercury sized notes, and many of the perplexing vocabulary words. Omar himself has toned back on the 10 minute guitar solos. This album feels less like a "wizard painted on the side of a van" Led Zepplin sized classic rock approach to prog, and a more electronic and layered Yes style.

Amputechture (2006) is my favorite Volta album; so I do miss that psychadelic-jazz sound a lot, but also respect the change. The Mars Volta that had become popular was not the Mars Volta that was born. If you go back to their debut EP, Tremulant, you'll notice the kind of simplicity heard here. The Volta that became so infamous with Frances The Mute and Amputechture was just one of a few directions they decided to go in. Think of this album as if the real follow up to their debut EP, Tremulant (2002).

Cedric is speaking more like a common man, and no songs break the eight minute mark, but the band still knows how to be strange and progressive. A lot of synthesizers of all shapes and sizes fill out the space on this album. Not as many guitar solos here as there are scratches and strains coming from all angles. "The Whip Hand" dishes out some of the most abrasive sound they've come up with. Cedric delivers an intimidating performance on "The Malkin Jewel". "Zed And Two Naughts" is my favorite song on here. Something that could have easily been on the fan favorite album, De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003).

"Dislexicon" is pretty action packed, but most of the songs are a slow burn. The first couple times I listened to this album, my attention drifted, only to be snatched back with the revelation "holy crap, is this the same song? How did it get to this point? This is crazy!" Going back and listening to the songs again to discover the slow transitions is fun. Most of these songs start out very simple and unassuming, but devolve into a wonderful cacophony. Others in the second half drag throughout. A little big of slog still holds this band down, but for the most part, this is the darker and "what-should-have-been" version of Octahedron.

Compared to what this group soared to between 2003 and 2008, this seems like a timid album, but I appreciate the new direction. To continue to try and outdo what they already did would just result in a destructive and redundant white noise. Now the haters have to create a whole new series of excuses to discredit this band.