Tribute to...The Mars Volta

    You might notice the different heading, and no album listed, and that is because I'm going to start a new thing; I'm calling it Tribute to... Why? Because some groups are so much my favorite, and have such an extensive history, that it seems ludicrous at such a juncture to choose one album to represent the rest. Consequently, this will be a tour through their entire discography, and history, in efforts of revealing to the reader how this band has evolved--of course with little tastes of listening along the way. So, before going ahead and listening to each track one after another, I'd suggest that for you to have the best listening experience possible, to listen to each track while that album/artist is being discussed (by clicking "Listen", making sure to open into a new tab/window), and subsequently listen through the track, in part or [better] whole, before proceeding into the next paragraph of text as well. We'll see how this goes, feel free to leave feedback in the comments.

    [Listen to "One Armed Scissor" from At the Drive-In's 2005 compliation album This Station is Non Operational]. The Mars Volta is the brainchild of mainly two rock musicians: Cedric Bixler-Zavala (hereafter referred to as CB-Z or just C.) and Omar Rodríguez-López (also hereafter referred to as OR-L or just O.). Both had been part of the post-hardcore/punk group At the Drive-In from 1993-2001, when the group broke up because of excessive drug use on part of the aforementioned pair and "complete mental and physical exhaustion" because of nonstop touring, the band's hype and recording. CB-Z and OR-L also had creative differences with the other members of ATDI, who wanted to become more alternative mainstream, while C. and O. wanted to pursue more progressive genres.

    [Listen to "El Professor Contra de Facto" from De Facto's debut 2001 album ¡Megaton Shotblast!] During the span of ATDI, C. and O. had also formed a side group, De Facto, an experimental dub reggae band that used to jam and play after ATDI shows. De Facto continued for a couple years after the break up of ATDI, but was forced to dissolve when one of its members, Jeremy Ward, died of a heroine overdose. De Facto did put together three albums in the course of 2001, and has recently, since 2008, been supposedly reunited in some manner.

    [Listen to "Concertina", the second track from Tremulant EP] The Mars Volta, then formed in El Paso, Texas in 2001, basing its name on a love of science fiction (Mars) and a sense of newness (the meaning of Volta). Its early years were indicative of chaotic live shows and narcotic use, and one release, a three track Tremulant EP in 2002. I've toyed with the idea of discussing who has been part of the group throughout The Mars Volta's history, because the band has seen its share of changes, but I think I will just mention this: CB-Z and OR-L have always been the main creative forces behind The Mars Volta. Typically, O. writes some music and then gives what he has written to C. with some direction as to the lyrics and stories involved and then waits for C. to complete his part of the process; so, all members are given parts accordingly with O.'s direction. Anyway, Tremulant EP as you will discover is inconsistent, the vocals beg for a more refined quality, but the style is more progressive and experimental, a direction C. and O. wanted to go with At the Drive-In.

"Mundo de Ciegos" from OR-L's 12th studio release, Xenophanes (2009)] The Mars Volta released their first full album, De-Loused in the Comatorium, in 2003, just a month before Jeremy Ward had overdosed, which convinced C. and O. to quit narcotics and subsequently spurned a wealth of creative output as a result of their lifestyle change. OR-L, for example, started creating solo (under the name of OR-L) and collaborative albums around 2002 and has become quite the producer, director, composer, actor and performer extraordinaire if you consider his cumulative output. I will not say much about O. as his own entity, as I have written previously about him. But, I will express how similar, obviously, the sound is to The Mars Volta. This was especially true when CB-Z was doing vocals for OR-L, instead of more recently when O. mostly uses his or the female vocals of Ximena Sariñana and Lisa Papineau, even though I still love the direction it took the style of OR-L's music; to be less like The Mars Volta and give it more its own identity.

    [Listen "Drunkship of Lanterns" from De-Loused in the Comatorium] De-Loused in the Comatorium is very inventive, rhythmically, with mixed meters and poly-rhythmic figures; and melodically, with guitar riffs and melodic lines that are unique in comparison to any other group I've ever heard. The story behind this "rock opera", if you will, is, to quote: "about Cerpin Taxt, a man who tries to kill himself by overdosing on a mixture of morphine and rat poison. The attempt lands him in a week-long coma during which he experiences visions of humanity and his own psyche. Upon waking, he is dissatisfied with the real world and jumps to his death." Lovely subject matter, I know, but it is based literally or fictitiously, I do not know which, on the true story of Julio Venegas, a mutual friend, who had committed suicide only a few years prior. De-Loused in the Comatorium made several best of the year lists and was well cited by critics, selling over 500,000 copies. Despite being their best selling record, actually, The Mars Volta has never looked back since, continuing their tremendous creativity and unique compositional style.

    [Listen  "L'Via L'Viaquez"] The Mars Volta's next album, Frances the Mute (2005), is another "rock opera", and is based this time on a diary found in a repossessed car. The tale involves the unknown adopted author trying to find his birth parents, suffering from mental illness and grief from the death of a loved one. The music of Frances the Mute has a much heavier Latin influence, with Hispanic lyrics and a chill latino dance type section in one song. There is also extensive saxophone playing on the later parts of "Cassandra Gemini". Both the artwork for this and the previous album, along with singles, was done by Storm Thorgerson, famous for Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon album cover and numerous other artists covers--check the list out here. A live album, Scabdates, was released in 2005, and has been their only live recording to date.

    [Listen to "Vermicide" from Amputechture] Amputechture, put out only one year later in 2006, definitely saw The Mars Volta take another turn musically. Many of the tracks are very instrumental, guitar heavy even, without as much vocals and the Latin influence is diminished except for the use of bongos. For example, the opening track is a silky guitar duet intro, "Asilos Magdalena" is mainly acoustic and the last track, "El Ciervo Vulnerado" uses sitar and more ambient sounds. Also, the subject is not one continuous story, more so connected themes. All the tracks except "Vermicide" have some connection to various religions through their title. Another change, Californian surrealist painter, Jeff Jordan, did the artwork for Amputechture, and has continued to do The Mars Volta's album artwork since. Apparently, The Mars Volta was not satisfied with Thorgerson's rendering.

    [Listen "Agadez" from The Bedlam in Goliath] That Mars Volta's fourth full album was released in 2008, The Bedlam in Goliath. The album has a much harder feel, with the drums largely playing into that perception; but, not just that, the album just goes and goes one hard song to the next with little break or quiet track to interpose. The themes of songs on the album, unfortunately, comes from dabbling in the occult with a Ouija board, which became a popular after show release for the band members. Not surprisingly, or coincidentally--you decide--, supposedly the band experienced many unfortunate events during this time of production, such as the drummer quitting for financial reasons, CB-Z having to get surgery and physical therapy to relearn to walk, the recording engineer refused to continue working on the album, OR-L's home studio flooding, multiple power outages and recorded audio tracks would simply disappear and then reappear. Consequently, O. broke and buried "The Soothsayer", the Ouija board, which had become known as such because it had given them stories and names and cursed them. Again, the titles of songs mostly refer to things of a highly eclectic religious nature.

    [Listen to "Halo of Nembutals" from Octahedron] The Mars Volta's latest release, in 2010, is Octahedron, and in my opinion is a fantastic listening voyage from start to finish. The band explores a much softer side for most of the album, with songs that are akin to acoustic, but still have an electric life to them, as well as the electronic ambiance The Mars Volta has become known for. It also has the best "jump out at you" moment with the end of one song fading and the opening of the next surprising you with its pounding entrance, which also happens to be one of their best songs ever. Interestingly, that eruptive song, "Cotapaxi" is an actual volcano in Ecuador. Also, in keeping with the album's title, Octahedron, there are eight tracks, all of which deal with various unconnected themes--a new direction for CB-Z's lyrical output. Overall, the album is driven by its use of synthesizers, and connected by a seemingly continuous pitch that appears between songs or sections, growing in volume and octaves until something either covers it up or it just goes away for the moment--I can not really say which, because it is so subtle that you almost do not notice it at the onset of the album even unless your volume is up enough. OR-L has stated that this would be the last album he solely has creative input on, and he has been quoted as saying that some musical material is in C.'s hands for him to do what he wants with; that he is not  rushing or influencing the process this time around. I just hope it is as good as all these albums I have presented to you and that The Mars Volta continues to make quality music.
    I hope you enjoyed the journey, there are no tracks for the MixPod player this time around, because they were embedded in the post.

Barcelona: Absolutes

    I do not know how Barcelona decided on its name, being from Seattle, Washington. Maybe it just meant more to be named after the capital city of a ancient nation rich in culture and history than after a hot spot indie scene city like Seattle. Perhaps it was just following the musical trend of naming after cities or animals. Nevertheless, Brian Fennell, the leading member of the group, realized that after self producing and releasing an album Safety Songs in 2005, while enlisting friends to fill in the necessary musical elements, that forming the group Barcelona would greatly improve Fennell's scope and creative vision. Rightly so, Barcelona, with the album Absolutes took Fennell's Safety Songs to a new level of depth of construction, with stronger melodies and balance.

    Absolutes was originally released in 2007 independently with the self-created NBD Music label, but was later re-released remastered with four additional tracks in 2009 with Universal Motown. As of 2010, however, Barcelona is no longer with Universal for undisclosed reasons. Apparently, a new record is in the works, but there is no news yet available beyond word of announcement on their Myspace blog on Jan 29th.

    Barcelona's sound is highly influenced mostly by Coldplay and Sigur Rós (I would say, though the band cites only U2, Coldplay, Copeland, Lovedrug and Death Cab for Cutie), very atmospheric with strings and synth, piano and electric guitar chords; but not quite ambient genre-wise. The vocals are nicely balanced and everything supports them. There is also a driving feeling to certain songs with drum set that is a little too typical rock beat at times, but bearable because it does not overwhelm. Absolutes thirteen tracks also contains a solid mix of pulse driven and melancholy melodic songs.

    Typically this kind of more simplistic music would leave me wanting more, but Barcelona's Absolutes has grown on me steadily and now I do endorse it willingly. Enjoy the track "First Floor People" in the MixPod player, which starts softly and grows powerfully.

Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid

    I heard Elbow on the radio yesterday, on WITR, 89.7 FM "The Pulse of Music". They are a British alternative Britpop/Post-Britpop, Dream Pop band who got their start back in 1990 at the Corner Pin pub in the Ramsbottom borough of Manchester. Their first major, non-EP, release came in 2001 with Asleep in the Back, followed by Cast of a Thousand (2003), Leaders of the Free World (2005) and The Seldom Seen Kid (2008), to which I love the Rubik's Cube evoking artwork cover. They will also be releasing a new album in early 2011.
    Britpop is largely the British counterpart of American alternative rock, and mainly a reaction against the American grunge movement, with Britpop bands like Suede, Blur and Oasis. By the turn of the millennium, Britpop came to its end, so Elbow is considered to be Post-Britpop. The singer of Elbow, Guy Garvey, has a distinct voice, often compared to Peter Gabriel of Genesis. I find his voice similar to [the last band I wrote up] dredg and to some extent Rustic Overtones. I find, as a whole, Elbow's music to be very vocal heavy, but not to a fault, as Garvey places an emphasis on dynamics as "an essential part of classical music, but a lost art with guitar music". So, each album is more of a "journey" than simply a musical enterprise. There are as many softer songs as loud songs and the balance is appreciated as a welcome change to many bands whose sound is too similar one song to the next in my opinion. Garvey cites Genesis, Talk Talk and Radiohead as vital influences on the style of their group and Elbow has received critical praise from groups such as Radiohead, Coldplay, Blur, R.E.M. and U2.
    The first song, "Starlings" is a different kind of fanfare, because it is not always loud, but has blurbs of anthemic noise that counter its melancholic atmosphere. "The Bones of You", next, is probably their best song to date, reminding me the most of dredg (sound of Garvey's voice and slight progressive rock style), Radiohead (rhythmic sound at the beginning of "15 Step"), Muse (harmonized vocals like "Knights of Cydonia") and I love the deep electronic style bass that adds rigor and tension to the sound. The song ends with a quote from Gershwin's "Summertime" played lightly on a jazzy trumpet fading into the distance. The third song, "Mirrorball" fits its name perfectly, with angular repetitive broken guitar and piano chords and glassy string harmonies. The first in many vocal heavy softer songs, it is beautifully melodic and a good change of pace after the rockin' previous track.
    That is just a preview of the 11 track album, The Seldom Seen Kid, to wet your appetite, hopefully. I have also included track 4 "Grounds for Divorce" in the MixPod player for further salivation (thank you ).

dredg: Leitmotif

    Dredg (stylized as dredg) is a progressive alternative rock band from Los Gatos, CA. I was introduced to them back before Catch Without Arms (2005) came out, liked El Cielo (2002) and listened a good amount to that album. I did not know about Leitmotif at the time, however; and as I tried to keep up with their more recent releases, including The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion (2009), I discovered Leitmotif (1998). This is a band, like many, that has lost a little bit of their original flavor, and consequently, I enjoy their earlier work more than their recent. Kind of the reason I chose this album is that I find myself listening to it more than their others (not to diminish El Cielo though, which is a great album!) I think bands find it increasingly difficult to stay unique and original, and often find themselves drifting into more mainstream accessible styles. Maybe their vision changes, or they cave to pressure to reach a broader audience--who knows.
    Leitmotif is a concept album, as with all of their releases, about a man's journey around the world in search of a moral cure to a disease a spirit tells him he has. Apparently, to quote: "the character learns to put faith in the religion found in the spiritual awakening of humankind, rather than buy into the religion of commerce and greed". Sounds mystic. Anyway, leitmotif is a musical term that is used to identify a musical motif (theme or melody perhaps) that keeps returning along with a particular character or idea. The first track,  often called "Symbol Song" is actually listed as a Chinese character meaning "change". So the whole overarching concept of the album is that the character who keeps reoccurring in the story goes through a transcendent change in morality which allows him to evolve and not die. Sounds mystic.
    The music is definitely progressive, with syncopated types of rhythms and not exactly mixed meters (more alternating between duple and triple figures) but also encapsulates a hard rock style at times, namely the track "Penguins in the Desert". Furthermore, dredg often adds a distant sound in their recordings, almost lo-fi, to their presentation; especially their latest album, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion, which is manipulated at times to appear almost dreamy. Stringed instruments are frequently used by dredge, more so in El Cielo. For more information about the album and particular songs, as well as the track listing, click the "quote" link above.
    Leitmotif was recorded in 10 days and has since been re-released on the Universal label on September 11, 2001 and again as an 11 year anniversary 500 copy limited vinyl edition in May of 2010. I've uploaded the "Symbol Song" into the MixPod player, enjoy!