Mars Volta is Anything but Mute
By Jeff Kalmbach

For the past 2 years, the Mars Volta has earned a reputation amongst peers and fans alike as the most inventive rock band of our time. Guitarist Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala met in 1994 in El Paso, Texas where they formed At the Drive-In with Jim Ward, Paul Hinjos, and Tony Hajjar. Through extensive touring and word-of-mouth hype, ATDI earned a buzz both with audiences and industry members alike. In 2001, a year after their most successful record The Relationship of Command, ATDI splintered into two camps. One side strayed only slightly from the punk/hardcore sound of ATDI to form Sparta. The other half, consisting of Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala, went the opposite direction in hopes to reinvent music. In 2002 the Mars Volta released the Tremulant EP as a teaser for their first full-length entitled De-Loused In The Comatorium. All the while fans rabidly gathered at the spectacle that was the Mars Volta live. After much anticipation, the sophomore full-length by tMV, Frances the Mute has become available to many starving fans.

Many have come to describe what tMV do as a culmination of Progressive rock and punk/hardcore, two genres in seemingly direct opposition. It comes as little surprise that the band deems this description as bullshit (that’s their job); especially this particular band, who’s musical mission is specifically to dispose of labels and limitations. The key point is that the average listener translates the title “prog rock” to mean “sterile” and “punk” to mean, “I don’t give a fuck”. In this general sense, neither title is appropriate. The music of the Mars Volta is indeed that of two fiercely devoted musical phenoms whose music is both dire and emphatic. Unfortunately, labels are a necessary evil in the record industry and we have to call this music something. The progressive rock similarities are obvious being the 10+ minute song forms & stratospheric vocals but the energy is more from the punk realm. The issue then arrises that if you are to include prog and punk, is it fair or accurate to exclude all of the other genres that prevalent in tMV‘s music? There are the psychedelic aspects of the band that are very prevalent in between tracks on Frances the Mute. Then you’ll have to throw salsa into the mix since L’via L’Viaquez goes between a half tempo montuno a la Eddie Palmieri and full on, balls out rock n’ roll. But wait, there’s more! How about the Bitches Brew era Miles sound on In Thirteen Seconds. Okay, so far we’ve got progressive/punk/psychedelic/salsa/fusion. As the titles pile up, it becomes clear that in order to accurately categorize tMV, one must put them in almost every category. Therefore: I give up. I don’t know what it is so it must be art.

The subject matter of Frances the Mute is influenced largely by friend and bandmate Jeremy Ward’s untimely passing from a drug overdose in 2003. Just before Ward’s death, he found a diary while working as a repo man. Ward was so shocked by how the anonymous subject’s story paralleled his own life that he felt compelled to share his discovery with Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala. The diary’s author was adopted, seeking his birth parents. All the while struggling to deal with abandonment and addiction along the way. The result is a fierce display of emotion from a grief stricken band who struggle to deal with their own loss and abandonment. “And I peel back all of my skin/ Peel back and let it all run” Cedric decrees in Multiple Spouse Wounds. Let it run, they do, from beginning to triumphant end. Umbilical Syllables explodes into lyrics of a violent separation from the womb. “Who do you trust/ will they feed us the womb/ chrome the fetal mirage/ will they feed us the womb.” The Widow serves as the current (and probably only) radio single from Frances earning heavy rotation on local Live 105. A slick power ballad a-la Televators, The Widow is an allegory for the cunning and appealing world of addiction. “Look at how they flock to him/ from an isle of open sores/ he knows that the taste is such/ such to die for” as a dark figure dispenses black sludge to children from an ice cream cart in the music video. Just as the abandoned children of the world so often flock to their dealer in adulthood, where they’ll “never be alone”. The band has been quoted as saying that politics has inspired the record as well. It is interesting how the emotions of abandonment and grief so easily parallel the feelings of many U.S. citizens. Perhaps the black sludge that is dispensed has more than one meaning. Only Containing five songs, each cut on Frances is named after a character in the diary. Due to label issues, Omar had to divide the last 2 cuts into their respective subsections otherwise tMV would only get paid for an EP (even though it clocks in at 77 minutes).

The flow of the record is seamless thanks to band members John Theodore (drums), Juan Alderete De La Pena (bass), and Ikey Owens (keys). Letting us know that virtuosity is no longer a dirty word, these guys are musicians’ musicians. Theodore ferociously pummels his kit from track one to close. Having played with Him and Trans Am, John has a Dave Garibaldi of rock snare style. Full of motion and tone, his hard hitting style never fails to pop the tune into gear. Formerly the bassist behind MI shred super group Racer-X (you know, with the guy from Mr. Big), de la Pena stands out on his lyrical fretless fills in The Widow. The rhythm section maneuvers unscathed through numerous time signature changes, feel changes, and unisons with a telepathic interplay. The band plays as if their lives depend on it in the most aggressive display of unabashed musicality of recent times. The tenor honks on In Thirteen Seconds by Adrian Terrazas are reminiscent of Ornette Coleman – a true punk musician. There is a return cameo by Flea who played bass on De-loused. Flea lent his trumpet talents on Frances, as did fellow Chili Pepper John Frusciante. Frusciante also added his talents to Rodriquez-Lopez’s recent solo venture Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack, Vol. 1, an instrumental record released in august on Omar’s Gold Standard label.

The sophomore release is the record upon which a band’s career is hinged. While, more often than not, the second release is the final nail in a band’s coffin, it can also be the stylus that etches their name into stone. This particular release is peculiar because it’s not just any band. This is the most hyped band of the past three years. With high expectation there is high risk of disappointment. Fortunately Frances the Mute exceeds expectation beyond description solidifying the Mars Volta’s seat beside Zeppelin, Floyd, and Seals & Croft in the hall of the rock gods. Holy shit it’s good.