What does it sound like?:
It’s hard to explain it. I am a huge fan of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, who is a kind of conceptual artist with a landscape of 100+ albums under various guises, collaborations, self-directed movies, books of photos… and all the pieces of what he does recur throughout his career. The Mars Volta were sort of post-hardcore prog, with lyrics that defy explanation most of the time from Cedric Bixler-Zavala. The band went through tumultuous lineup changes, and imploded when Cedric got involved in Scientology. The reformation a few years ago, with yet another lineup (members of previous ones died, got involved in bad stuff, fell out, had accidents…) – that was a surprise. Also a disappointment – the self-titled album and the subsequent acoustic rework were, to be honest, a bit boring. But now I understand those ones more with this new one being made up really of all the things that weren’t there.
So it sounds like this: ethereal jazz, latin rhythms and percussion, vocals that are heavily re-sampled and made into atmospheres, hardly any guitar, some very EDM-influenced synths. The vocals are actually rather beautiful, Cedric is reining it in a bit and REALLY singing, and the melodies are very good – I don’t think he’s ever sounded better. It is really just one long song across 18 parts.
The lineup is something like:
Omar – guitar, keyboards, processing, possibly some flute
Cedric – vocals
Eva Gardner, Josh Moreau – bass
Marcel Rodriguez Lopez – keyboards, latin perc, drums, bass synth
Linda Philomena Tsonguii – drums
Leo Genovese – keyboards, sax
Willy Rodriguez Quinones – drums
Daniel Diaz – latin percussion
+ samples of earler stuff possibly involving Deantoni Parks, John Frusciante and others.
What does it all *mean*?
It doesn’t matter. It means whatever you want it to. It mixes incomprehensible passages with simple emotions ‘you’re the one that I want’ indeed. There are musical callbacks (e.g. drums from Omar’s Bored To Burns, guitar from one of the tracks off Doom Patrol) and there are lyrical callbacks to previous things (Faminepulse was a title of a section of Frances the Mute, the word turns up in the lyrics)
It means, you are going to either hate it, or (slim chance) love it as much as I do. I have immersed myself in this world. I know all 58 of Omar’s solo albums inside out. I can tell you where all the sampled parts originate, and where they are used. But ultimately, this album somehow tugs at the heartstrings and floats on melody and good vibes. It’s been on constant repeat here, and I still have no idea really what is going on.
A little shout to the LP packaging. It comes in a completely plain cardboard sleeve. The two records are in black bags. There are no labels. It wasn’t announced but was made available through independent shops. It was exciting to hear the rumours and leaks. They even played the album in full on tour as support to (can’t remember who, but one of those ‘dude’ bands).
Goes well with…
Nothing outside the Omar universe, this stands alone even in that. Probably the closest is Omar’s Is It The Clouds.
Release Date:
Friday 11 April
Might suit people who like…
If you can think of any ethereal melodic latin jazz prog with psychedelic vibes, then that’s the stuff.
—>
I’d be amazed if anyone else even cares about this one!
Well, you’ve piqued my interest, anyway…
(btw thanks to whoever added the cover image… apologies for not sorting that out… also, I have no idea what the [OBJ] thing is at the end of the title… probably some Volta dark arts at work)
Good review. Thanks. I have all of the TMV albums and one or two of Omar’s solo exercises (the early ones, after which I lost interest). For a time I regularly played “De-loused in the Comatorium” and tried to find out as much as I could about the band and Omar and Cedric in particular. I even forgave them for one of the worst gigs I’ve ever attended (Brixton Academy in – I’m guessing – 2005). I streamed this over the weekend. It’s a great surprise and avoids the self-indulgence of TMV (which I like, but does not make for casual listening). It’s made me intend to re-visit the band’s mid-period albums.
Octahedron is a much-overlooked album, I think. The song With Twilight as My Guide is another example of melody, passion and restraint… they CAN do that. Glad you are somewhat back on board, anyway.
This strikes a chord. I’m guessing that I saw that same tour, but at Manchester Apollo. God, I love prog, but it was a relentless, dense screed of noise, delivered with not even a break between tracks, as I recall.
I didn’t listen to a Mars Volta album for years. Maybe I could be tempted again.
“A relentless, dense screed of noise” is a good description of the Brixton gig. I think they were touring “Frances The Mute” at the time. I agree with Leffe. “Octahedron” can be approached without too much caution. As can this new one.
The Bedlam in Goliath is probably the most relentless of all the albums – although it is so noisy, you can almost relax and go with the flow. At least it has a bit of (gasp!) funk about it.
There’s plenty of very listenable Omar solo albums – some random picks:
Ciencia de los Inútiles (2010; as El Trio De Omar Rodriguez Lopez)
El Bien y Mal Nos Une (2016)
Ensayo de un Desaparecido (2017)
Thanks, I’ll take a look / listen.
Your dedication is awe inspiring. I’ll give it a listen.
That’s a nice thing to say, thanks. I mean, you might hate it, love it, or be indifferent – but listening to music makes the music happen.
Would I recommend that anyone gets as immersed in the strange world of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez? No: a drug habit might be cheaper and be just as disorientating. But I certainly would say this – everyone should remember what it’s like to be a fan. You can still find that feeling whatever age you are.
Looks intimidating but I’ll give it a try…
That’s a good summary.