03/26/12: The Mars Volta - Noctourniquet (2012)

03/26/12: The Mars Volta - Noctourniquet (2012)

1. The Whip Hand
2. Aegis
3. Dyslexicon
4. Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound
5. The Malkin Jewel
6. Lapochka
7. In Absentia
8. Imago
9. Molochwalker
10. Trinkets Pale of Moon
11. Vedamalady
12. Noctourniquet
13. Zed and Two Naughts

      I'm not gonna spend much time explaining The Mars Volta. They are modern day Prog Rock gods and they keep crushing what I expect of them from album to album. Their albums have been taking the very long song approach over the last few albums. They've also been heavy on the use of Spanish lyrics and singing as well. They've made albums that are just catchy rock songs, they've made half hour Progressive rock epics, and they have warped their sounds in a ton of different directions. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has also been a music making machine over the last few years, releasing countless solo releases.
     This album is a definite departure from the approach of the last couple albums. They are stilla rock band at the core, but I believe Omar's experimentation outside of the group has had some affect on The Mars Volta's sound as a whole. "Noctourniquet" delivers classic Mars Volta rockers, some of their prettiest mellow songs to date, as well as creating some of their most experimental songs ever. This is the first album by them in a while to have fairly short and to the point songs but there are a couple longer pog gems hidden in there.
     These songs have some of the weeirdest and catchiest moments of their career so far. I feel like pieces of so many albums are here, but what sets it apart is the more prevalent use of drum machines, sampling, and looping. "The Malkin Jewel" is one of the stranger radio singles they have released. I can only compare it to really old Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. "In Absentia" is one of their noisiest and most experimental tracks yet. It is noise and strained vocals for 5 minutes that suddenly breaks into one of the most interesting beautiful and proggy moments of the album. Songs like "Molochwalker" are their to fill that classic rocking Mars Volta song void. Really the whole album is awesome unpredictable and shows a bit of everything The Mars Volta can do. (086)