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 - Cover Story: Punks Attack! |
knows) deaf-mute. Along the way, he meets a sex-addicted widow whom he infects with the AIDS virus, his aunt who was blackmailed into silence, his mysterious grandmother in Puerto Rico, and various other mysterious characters. Who said concept albums and prog-rock are dead? But please, don’t tell any Mars Volta devotees that the band is a) a concept album band, or b) neo-prog rock. Although there’s no way to deny that a band that releases two concept albums in a three year span isn’t a ‘concept album band,’ The Mars Volta has done just that. And their new album, Frances the Mute, is quite a concept. Entailing all of the scenes above and more, Frances is a bit more literal (but only a bit) than their last release, De-Loused in the Comatorium. While Comatorium was a trip through the unconscious mind of a coma-enveloped overdose victim, Frances the Mute takes place in real life, and is based in part on a journal found by former (and now deceased, sadly), Volta member Jeremy Ward. It follows around the main character (Vismond Cygnus, the aforementioned male prostitute) around on his journey to find the reality of his birth and bring justice to those who have wronged him. If the concept sounds overbearing (which it probably does if you’re me and/or someone who hasn’t lurked around volta fan forums like www.thecomatorium.com for the past six months), then you may have to revert back and just listen to the music. The music is the real shining point anyway; a triumphant mix of latin, jazz, electronic, punk, and yes, prog rock. No matter what you want to call it, the final result is damn-near genius. As one web site says, “dive in… and tell me you're not listening to the classic rock of the future.” I Don’t think I could have said it better myself. In true prog-rock form, the album is one continuous piece, split up into five sections, each devoted to a character in the story. Each piece takes a different shape based on the character it represents. The opening section, dedicated to the main character, starts calm and then raises to typical Mars Volta craziness. The second track, The Widow, is the shortest piece, clocking in at about six seconds (co-incidentally, it also happens to be the single). It’s a haunting piece of work reminiscent of De-Loused’s own Eriatarka. From there, the sky’s the limit for the Volta. They effectively take the music to places nobody could have expected, even from one of the most innovative bands on the scene today. Frances the Mute also marks guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’ first time in the producer’s chair, with overall extremely positive results. This makes the sound truly their own, in a way having Rick Rubin produce your album could never create. There are a few problems with the mix, but mostly they are minor volume issues that are only somewhat distracting and might even be written off as creative license. Either way, I hope that this really does become the classic rock of the future, because I would much rather have modern music known for this kind of--pardon the pun--progressive output than pretty much any other trash out there. When push comes to shove, Frances the Mute is really a great listen, whether or not you’re familiar with The Mars Volta. And don’t let the heavy concept and experimentation intimidate you; for a band of their caliber, there are a surprising amount of good old fashioned guitar solos. Our ratings are done on a ten-point scale, and we consider ourselves fairly conservative with our ratings. Five is average, the six to seven range is good, and anything above that is damn near legendary. Copyright (C) 2005 Quadraphonic. |
