Author Archives: jms

Who cares.

TAG: Great
PERIOD: Nascent (recorded 2001, released 2004)

Not much has been made of Omar’s desire to make films by anyone but Omar. It comes up infrequently in interviews, usually in tandem with discussions of the output he has and how casually he approaches releasing it, discussing how many finished albums he hasn’t finished and how he’s the same way with films. His first publicly viewed film, “The Sentimental Engine Slayer,” surfaced in 2010 and is currently touring the festival circuit. While a variety of named films show on his Wikipedia page, the only one widely known despite no public release is “A Manual Dexterity.”

“A Manual Dexterity” appears to be a charged film for Omar, deeply personal that was difficult to revisit after the passing of Jeremy Michael Ward, a founding member of The Mars Volta and a close friend. It’s fitting, then, that this album feels like it’s working around deep voids. The most obvious is the absence of the visual that the music is supposed to wrap around. It’s some of the more subtle composition work Omar has done because that’s the purpose it’s supposed to serve, and as such the album ends up serving a valuable purpose outside of the artist’s original intention, and it’s the reason this album is tagged as it is.

Said purpose? Due to the subtlety of the work, this album is an excellent primer to how Omar thinks about and composes music, as well as giving a chance for to appreciate how oddly naturalistic Omar’s compositions are. In interviews he’s described the two sides of his composition; the roots of punk and traditional Spanish music as well as his pursuit of pure expression, leading to a solid pop structure base with experimental guitar and sound manipulation being overlaid.

The whole of the album builds this incredible atmosphere around an empty space, ornate and disconcertingly familiar like the final scene of 2001. Maybe like A Manual Dexterity. The only thing I could even consider being a misstep is the outro of the album, after the abrupt arrival of frequent collaborative partner Cedric Bixler Zavala interrupts the sparse space the music had been creating. At the same time, Zavala’s lyrics give the only attempt at filling the void left by the film’s absence, so it’s difficult to judge too harshly.

This album’s importance as Omar’s first solo release along with being an easier listen than other albums of this period make recommending the album a logical conclusion. Also I guess now would be the time to mention this series is going by release chronology.

The first album I bought that I truly loved was “Relationship of Command” by At The Drive-In. I was 12, I think, and I used to be the kind of kid that would sit and watch MTV, although I preferred MTV2 as soon as we had it. I would put it on and play with toys, read, or do homework (woo homeschooling). Sometimes I’d just spin in place and listen to the music, and as I got dizzy the music would seep in and be the only anchor I could percieve. I would only really be transfixed if the video was strange, and not so much about the song.

Except for “One Armed Scissor.” I didn’t know what I saw in it then, but it grabbed me like no other song had. I have that song to blame for my music obsession, and a large part of that obsession is related to At The Drive-In. I’ve worn out both the CDs of “Wiretap Scars” by Sparta and “De-Loused in the Comatorium” by The Mars Volta. And within the continuing fanboyishness towards ATDI and the splinter groups, I became aware of Omar Rodriguez Lopez’s solo work. Now that this music blog is en route to becoming a thing, I’ve decided to channel that obsession into something more educational. In writing The Complete & Accurate Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, I have three goals. Continue reading →

I know it’s not relevant.

I know it’s my second straight review involving Cedric & Omar.

I know there’s a big hate-on for The Mars Volta.

I’m not here to argue against disliking them.

Every complaint is legitimate towards most of their recent work. I would even go as far as to say that liking “The Bedlam In Goliath” is a sign of almost fanboyish appreciation of the TMV approach, and also for “Amputechture.” These two albums are in contrast with what is now the larger amount of their work: “De-Loused in the Comatorium” and “Frances the Mute” are two albums that strike a careful balance between psychadelia, salsa, and obtuse storytelling and do so well in their own ways- the dizzying ambition of “Frances” vs. the arrival qualities of “De-Loused.” What I am here to suggest is that perhaps we were all unfair to “Octahedron” when it surfaced last year.

The reception to “Octahedron” rang of dismissal and disappointment, the former from those turned off by “Bedlam” (me) and disappointment that it was not even faster and crazier (the Comatorium). The one thing I will say in favor of “Bedlam” is that it was in many ways a return to earth for Cedric as a singer and lyricist, as well as Omar’s sense of melody. These developments were eclipsed by Thomas Pridgen, who I am quick to say fits every negative stereotype I have about drummers. The reality of the situation is that Omar’s production style worked excellently for one album- “Frances”- which was grounded in a very, very tight rhythm section between Theodore and Alderte.

They lost that grounding for “Bedlam,” and instead set a young prodigy in front of a drum set, and told him to play as if the song was just him. It ended up being oppressive and obnoxious, leaving perfectly good songs in tatters underneath cheesy overdrumming. Goliath is a particular offender here, but I am partial to Omar’s solo work, and I thought Rapid Fire Tollbooth was one of the best songs he’s yet put together. It’s just not a song that fits with stadium drumming.

Alright, actually talking about “Octahedron” now. Where “Bedlam” was Omar and Cedric coming back to earth, “Octahedron” has the rest of the band joining them. The album is as a result a lot less out of control. I wouldn’t call it calmer, even if it is for the most part slower, as it’s just as intense as earlier work. The difference is that with the slower pace, it builds over the whole album as opposed to each individual song being a wild prolific panic. It makes “Octahedron” a lot more approachable as a result, and it’s ideas are more easily communicated as they grow in complexity.

“Since We’ve Been Wrong” is the most human Cedric has appeared in five albums, and is an exceptional intro to the album. It reads as an ode to a bad relationship, the vulnerable yearning for salted scorched earth. It’s vulnerability sticks out as it establishes one of the three basic themes for the album, a tragic sympathy for humans. The other two themes are established within the other two initial songs- “Teflon” mediates on the evil of overtaken institutions, while “Halo of Nembutals” considers what nothingness is going to eventually imply, as well as the humor that comes from those realizations.

The strongest aspect of Octahedron is that it is a complete album. It’s a collection of songs that exist and rely on each other for that existence. This isn’t an easy album to pick tracks out of and put on mix tapes, as they breathe each other’s air more dependently than prior efforts. It’s an album that feels alive, an incredible accomplishment given the discography of The Mars Volta.

WINNER: “Octahedron” by The Mars Volta

WHY: It’s good to see them back down here with us.