The Mars Volta - "Noctourniquet" (3-27-2012)

Somebody get me a new track that proves they kept taking the Ritalin that resulted in Octahedron, and I'll get myself excited.

The big quote that was circulating a few months back was that it was pretty different from everything they've done - stripped down, no sax/woodwinds, no salsa influences, no meandering Santana-esque guitar jams, no over the top sound effects and atmospherics, and so on. I believe Omar Rodriguez described it as "future punk," which sounds goofy, but they've played new material live in the guise of his solo band and assuming they stay true to it and don't give in to the temptation to add too many layers and extra weirdness it could be pretty awesome, almost ATDI esque - and I say that as someone who enjoys the bombast and excess of prog, and has even liked most of TMV's albums. Right now "stripped down" would be a good direction for them.

Now streaming at Rollingstone.com.

The future punk statement's pretty accurate. It's spacey, full of echoes, and warbly voice effects. But aside from the first track, which is grating on me like crazy, I'm digging it.

Liking it too. It's spacey but modern, and without being meandering. Has an overall melancholy mood. I like the addition of prominent synth and sequencers. Deantoni Parks is an awesome drummer and contributes some of his signature frenetic DnB influenced playing which keeps the spacey stuff layered over it from losing energy or momentum. Also I think there are some prettier or maybe just catchier melodies than usual. Or maybe just different from usual, like in "Empty Vessels"

Love the hell out of this.  The chorus of 'Empty Vessels' is killing me.  There are plenty of noodle-y elements, but yeah, lots of dark, beautiful melodies.  Those odd pauses in 'The Whip Hand' are just a great way to start off the album.  Yay!

Took a while to adjust to the changes in their sound but this record is a grower. Definitely Cedric's best since Deloused, the vocal melodies are really strong on this thing. In fact it's so carried by the vocals, and Omar and the rest of the band (except the hyperactive drummer) are so understated it almost feels like a Cedric solo album. I wasn't that impressed by Octohedron or the back half of Bedlam, so I'm pleased.

This album frustrates me so much.  I have listened to it countless times now and it is so close to being great, except on half the album it sounds like instead of a drummer they have a broken drum machine.  For example, I love Lapochka, especially the second half.  This would be a perfect moment for a drummer who knows when less is more.  Instead he is just shitting out random snare all over the place.  I don't know.  Maybe I'm too old for future punk.

I was leaning closer to the "it's pretty good" part of the spectrum most of the album. Vedamalady, I think, pushes it into great territory.  Just a perfect, dreamland performance from everybody. Even the hyperactive drummer (who I kinda like, but to each their own).

I love the drummer, but I'm into prog and math rock and stuff. I hear songs like Lapochka and I'm like without the crazy rhythms this song would be so much less interesting. But he's got a groove going in most of that song (albeit a weird, frenetic one) and it's just that one part where he starts doing fills and starts and stops against the beat, and it's the climax of the song. It's creating tension and drama. Also I don't think it's necessarily fair to say he doesn't know how to hold back. I'm sure he could (and does on some tracks), but this is TMV, where a more complex and busy style fits and is probably why Omar hired him and what he wanted him to play.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Benenson 

I'm into prog and math rock and stuff. I hear songs like Lapochka and I'm like without the crazy rhythms this song would be so much less interesting. But he's got a groove going in most of that song (albeit a weird, frenetic one) and it's just that one part where he starts doing fills and starts and stops against the beat, and it's the climax of the song. It's creating tension and drama. Also I don't think it's necessarily fair to say he doesn't know how to hold back. I'm sure he could (and does on some tracks), but this is TMV, where a more complex and busy style fits and is probably why Omar hired him and what he wanted him to play.

My girlfriend is so put off by the timing in 'The Whip Hand'.  She digs TMV too, but she heard that song and said, "It's fucking with my head."  OK, I'll play it again.  Love ya.  I love the whole fucking album.

Kind of funny how they start the album with one of the weirdest, most dissonant tracks, and picked a track that sounds like Nick Cave playing garage rock as the lead single. It's like they don't want anyone to know that a lot of the album is quite easy to like - Empty Vessels and Vedamalady are two of the loveliest tracks they've ever put out.

I kind of miss the epic drama of their earlier stuff but this tuneful mellower direction is working pretty well for me. Supposedly Omar's stepping down as band dictator after this one and letting other people have more imput, I'm curious how that'll turn out.

I was checking out some of Omar's infinite number of solo albums on Spotify, and this one is quite gorgeous if you're into folksy stuff at all.