After 2008′s The Bedlam in Goliath, it seemed as if guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala had painted themselves into a corner. This is not to say that Bedlam was necessarily a bad album – but it was dangerously close to crossing the fine line between controlled, progressive sound and total confusion and mess.
However, being the excellent musicians that they are, Cedric and Omar rescued the quality of the music on the album with their impressive skill of creating coherent, dynamic melodies – even in the midst of the roaring chaos of jazz rock, prog and Latin.
With their latest effort, Octahedron, it’s evident that Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala have learned from their past mistakes. Ostensibly, the structures of the songs are a top priority – whereas their earlier albums had been conceptual, the songs having been tied to each other one way or another, Octahedron sounds more like a collection of singular songs. Thankfully, most of the spaced-out, six-minute jams have been left behind.
The first track, “Since We’ve Been Wrong,” does what a good opener should: provide the listener with a taste of what the album is all about. It also brings back great memories from “The Widow”, one of the highlights on what is arguably their best album, Frances the Mute, as well as one of their most popular songs. “With Twilight as My Guide” is undoubtedly one of Cedric’s best vocal performances. “Cotopaxi” is a speedy, straightforward three-minute rocker; a rare gem in The Mars Volta’s experimental and progressive catalogue.
Ultimately, Octahedron is a much more radio-friendly work than their previous efforts. It’s far more accessible than The Bedlam in Goliath; with a sound like this, The Mars Volta could probably create a larger fan base, if it wasn’t for the fact that there aren’t any obvious hits on this album. Whether or not that’s intentional is uncertain. But we do know one thing – all of The Mars Volta’s albums have been very exciting highlights in their years of release, and there’s no doubt that their future releases will be just as interesting.
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