Crowned by Rolling Stone Magazine as the best progressive rock band around today, the Mars Volta are back with their first album since 2008. The band is known for the energetic live shows and a cult-like following that dates back to the days of At The Drive In.
The album “Noctourniquet“ is what a band might sound like in the future. The first song kicks off with a sound that resembles a blaster in a Star Wars movie firing away. The synthesizer and echoing guitar definitely shows the band’s obsession with sci-fi material (as apparent in the band name). I’m not even sure if earthlings made this album—I could picture getting beamed up by an alien aircraft and the aliens bumping this album.
On a serious note, the album has insane time signature changes. Basically the drummer is playing the opposite of dance beats. The complexity shows how talented the musicians are in this band. Watch any live clip of the Mars Volta and notice how the drummer (they’ve gone through quite a few of them over the years) is constantly playing off beats and changing up the groove.
The album as a whole touches on melodic vocal moments and holds the usual experimental and poetic lyrics. With lines like “from the blossom rags of my jackal croon to the stems of this cinquefoil,” good luck trying to relate to any of these songs. The band knows listeners probably will not get the same message as what they meant when writing the lyrics, so then each fan can have their own interpretation. TMV albums are written as concepts, meaning all the songs are related to the overall message of the piece. Compared to other albums, using acoustic guitars make this album seem mellower and the production of the songs also seem less chaotic than before.
Rating: W – P
Key Tracks: “Aegis”, “Lapochka”, and “The Malkin Jewel”
RIYL: At The Drive In, Muse, The Flaming Lips
Check out : “The Malkin Jewel“
