It was pretty easy to find fault with the first four Mars Volta
albums. All of them were basically the same dense slab of sonic
masturbation — equal parts aural bliss and epic clusterfuck. And
yet, the El Paso-based progressive rock band continued to sell more
records and play to ever larger crowds, while defying current
record-industry practices in about a hundred different ways.
Octahedron, the band’s fifth full-length, has got something
going for it that the others didn’t have: It’s listenable.
Referred to as their “acoustic” album by singer Cedric
Bixler-Zavala, the 50-minute album is remarkably song-oriented. “Since
We’ve Been Wrong” features a plaintive acid-rock guitar melody atop
Bixler-Zavala’s beautifully harmonized vocals. The opening of “Teflon”
sounds like the musicians are ready to slip back into their previous
modus operandi. But that immediately changes when the histrionics
subside for the first verse, which is followed by a triumphant chorus.
The band’s trademark segues between tracks and moments of silence are
still here. But these transitional devices seem to serve a better
purpose this time around because the songs are stronger. It figures
that this enigmatic band would put out their most accessible record at
a time when talk of a reunion by Bixler-Zavala’s previous group —
post-hardcore icons At the Drive-In — threatens to completely
overshadow it. — Jeremy Willets
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2009.
