The Mars Volta Album: “Frances the Mute”

The Mars Volta hit the jackpot with their debut -- a thrashing, hypnotic, hallucinatory sprawl of prog-rock. People loved it, and many said it was genius. Which, of course, makes the expectations for Album No. 2 even higher -- how can you capture lightning in a bottle more than once?

"Frances the Mute" does a pretty good job of doing just that. Without sacrificing the creepy overtones and wild sound, the Mars Volta opts for a new, stranger sound that is a bit less rock and a bit more prog. "L'Via L'Viaquez" has a sizzling riff that is louder than anything else on the album, while "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" sounds like a metal band going slowly insane.

Not that they've lost their metal/funk/punk/Latin/experimental edge -- some parts of it are just more prominent. Mostly it's the prog and funk... and just try to imagine what that sounds like. Songs like the half-hour "Cassandra Gemini" happily flit from one style to another, with a sense of true rock grandeur, while songs like "Miranda that Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore" has an ambient flavor.

Perhaps the one problem is that instead of one sprawling concept album, like their first, this is apparently multiple "acts" put together. A few songs simply putter out, like lackluster "The Widow." But the explosive energy of almost every other song is enough to make up for "The Widow's" flaws.

In a nutshell, you don't know what to expect from the Mars Volta in any given song. They can draw you in with a simple riff or quiet melody, before launching into a screaming, frenetic jumble of Latin-prog-psychedelica-acid-jazz. It's dizzying; the instrumentation is as wild and abstract as their dark, bizarre songwriting. Their lyrics are a bit reminiscent of Burroughs, and deliver a visceral punch even if they don't make sense.

One thing that has changed is the song length; if the Mars Volta keeps this up, their future albums will have to be double or triple discs. Many songs are over ten minutes, and one is over half an hour. A few songs could definitely have used some trimming, and it has a somewhat looser feel than their first album. But most of the songs manage to do justice to their length -- lots of explosive riffs and sharp drumming, paired with some weird keyboard noises and wailing vocals.

"De-loused in the Comatorium" was an outstanding space-prog-Latin-jazz-rock album, and "Frances the Mute" does a good job of following up on it. It lacks the tightness of the Mars Volta's first album, but is a good collection in its own right.

This band, The Mars Volta has to be the most amazing band I have heard in a long time. Certaintly the best band to come along in my life-time. The amazing genra bending sounds this band creates blow my mind. It's Santana meets Yes meets Aerosmith with a splash of James Brown in the live show. When I first discovered this band it was as a System Of A Down concert and The Mars Volta was opening and when they came on they blew me away, with the amazing vocals and soaring guitar and the Latin flavor I thought this band was the greatest thing since sliced bread. They most deffinatley put on a better show then System Of A Down did that night.

Frances The Mute apart from having a cool album cover is one of the best albums to come out in a long time. On paper Prog-ish-rock and Latin music and hard rock all at once dont sound to apealing, or maybe they do, but when The Mars Volta mixes them together on this album it is nothing short of pure stroke of genius. The album opens with a ten minute jam which is absolutley amazing. This song reminds me a lot of mid 1970's Rush, except sung in Spanish. The albums only radio friendly song, 'The Widow,' track two is amazing. The lyrics are compelling and the vocals are nothing short of amazing. But the real magic on this album is the next song, 'LVia LViaquez.' This song is just, just perfect. No flaws on this track. The opening guitar solo is killer, I think John Frushanti and Flea of The Red Hot Chili Peppers plays on this song except Flea plays trumpet, which is really cool. The vocal delivery on this song is jsut amazing. The song is about ten minutes long but I'm telling you its nothing to get bored with, the changing tempos and varied instraments keep this song interesting, and not to mention the absolutley out of this world vocals. I just wish I new what he was saying when he sings in Spanish, but I think that mystery adds to why this band is so damn cool. The rest of the album is amazing as well, The problem is that I cant really tell you how each song is because of the way they are titled and numbered it's kind of confusing. But trust me the rest of the album is just as good as the beggining.

For anyone who is looking for a band that is different and not just like every other band out right now then The Mars Volta is a great alternative and is really a band that will always keep you guessing. If you heard 'The Widow' on the radio I am warning you that on this album that's the only song that sounds like that, the rest of the album is totaly different. But I strongly recomend this album to anyone who is a fan of good rock and roll!

First off, I'd like to make the statement that, despite what anyone says, this album is NOT for everyone. Also, nothing that I or anyone else says here will affect your feeling about this album; it's a strictly love/hate relationship, as with all 'different' music... there is no partiality. That being said, it's understandable to see where some people who dislike this album are coming from. If you aren't used to TMV, this is not your album. Personally, I had to work up to TMV, it wasn't something I enjoyed immediately, but once you can get your ears around the ideas and techniques of TMV, it's true genius, pure pleasure to listen to. Listening to one song on this album is an injustice; it really cries out to be listened to in it's entirety, and this is how it's meant ot be listened to, not in bits and pieces. In comparison to De-Loused, Frances does not have quite as much catchiness or as many musically difficult lines, but, I feel that the music, viewed as a whole, shows much more thought and depth; instruments seem to almost weave in and out of eachother in some places, creating an almost surreal and mind-numbing effect. The most impressive aspect of this CD, just as in De-Loused, in my opinion, is the flow- from one track to the next, the flow is smooth, lines fade in and out, and guitar effects provide subtle, odd, and sometimes even frightening undertones, while the bass and drum lines are thouroughly supportive of the rest of the band, while maintaining some degree of complexity, especially rhythmically. I feel that De-Loused may have done a better job mending different tracks together than Frances, but Frances is nonetheless brilliant in it's approach to this style.

As I said before, you will either love or hate this album, depending on what you have listened to in the past, your influences, and your tastes- even the best review can't change that. Love it or hate it, this is TMV, and if you can truly listen to this album thoroughly once, you may find it growing on you more and more.

Even De-Loused at the Comatorium couldn't prepare you for this. I've heard some brilliant music over the past five years, but I'd have to say this one takes the cake. And as many others will probably go track to track analyzing every sound, I want to take a moment to describe another side of why you should add this to your cart immediately and request rush delivery. This is an album that will make you feel things.

The kind of feelings you get when you know you're listening to something truly inspired, even when it missteps. The kind of feeling you get when you hear a musical idea and it literally takes your breath away. The last two times I heard an album that so bravely took such a broad - dare I say thematic - approach to its sound were the first time I heard Dr. Dre's The Chronic and Tool's Aenima. And I find it extremely difficult to categorize this album, even though the most obvious way to categorize this sound of soaring vocals and wailing drums, bass and guitar is simply rock and roll. One listen, though, and one look at the huge list of musicians who participated in the making of this album, rife with strings and horns, will reveal its greater depth.

Exploratory, fearless and unhinged are the most appropriate ways I can describe what The Mars Volta have done with Frances the Mute. It feels so free and unstructured at times that I can't fathom how this band could keep this material faithful to the record in concert. But that's a good thing. It's as if this album, and The Mars Volta's sound in general, is truly organic and a protest to everything pre-packaged and compact that has always - but seemingly much more lately - flooded the music industry. But instead of doing it with blind rage and mindless raucous noise, TMV is doing it with ear-shattering virtuoso performances.

And many might not be prepared for it. Many might find the eccentricity of having the influnces of Jimi Hendrix, Tito Puente, Led Zeppelin, Iggy Pop, Suicidal Tendencies and Chick Corea all present on the same album, sometimes on the same track, a bit overwhelming. Many might be bored by the long, seemingly aimless passages of noodling and quirky sounds. Many people aren't used to such broad, loose musical structures. Learning to enjoy jazz and classical music at an early age has probably helped me appreciate such musical gestures, and I urge any who find this album meandering to just slow down and listen to the what is being played. Listen to what sincere creativity and musical exploration sound like. You're hearing the most well-made and forward-thinking music you can spend your money on today - and be grateful: The way today's music industry built on cross promotion and product association is going, it may one day be a crime to create such glowing work.

Don't even think twice.

First off, before anyone reviews this album, they should listen to the album at least 10 times and digest all of it. I personally have listened to the whole thing possibly 20 times since buying it last Thursday. With that said, the Mars Volta step up their musical assault on this 77 minute opus and leave the listener only looking forward and not back on their previous records the Tremulent EP and De-Loused in the Comatorium. This is a totally different band than what appeared on those two records in the sense that they have finally found a definitive sound and have an air of confidence about themselves. Also, as a sidenote, many have bashed the incessante use of sound effects between songs as being too long and too stupid. Did it ever occur to anyone that this album is based off a diary the late Jeremy Ward (who did sound effects for the Mars Volta until his 2003 death) and since it was found by Jeremy, it would only be fitting to display something that he was very good at everywhere on this record. The ambient noise and weird sounds I feel are a way for the band to pay tribute to their lost bandmate. Anyway, on with the review.

(supposed to be track one).Frances The Mute-Not in fact on this CD at all but was supposed to be the first song on the album but was cut because of time constraints. Only the lyrics to the song appear in the lyrics book accompanying the album. I haven't personally think it's a great track that all fans should purchase in any way possible.

1.Cygnus....Vismund Cygnus-the 43 second acoustic intro will likely throw you off before you are thrown into a frenzy of funk/salsa/classic rock with lyrics mostly in Spanish. You know you're in for one great ride of an album when you can even hear orchestral noises going on underneath all the madness. Guitar solos are aplenty on this song as well as all the other songs on the album and the song really picks up after the second chorus only to segue into a jammy jazz section. The song ends around the ten minute mark but outro noise goes on for 3 minutes until...

2.The Widow-This is the shortest song the Volta has ever made in the sense of actual music and is a rather strong ballad. It's choruses are really uplifting and has a bridge to die for including an awesome guitar solo and trumpet solo courtesy of guest trumpeteer Flea (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers). Was released as a single as a 3:30 edit which cuts off the two and half minutes of ambient noise that appears on the album leading into.......

3.L'Via L'Viaquez-This song's fusion of salsa and spaced out funk is totally addictive. From the intro guitar solo (played uncharacteristically by John Frusciante of the Chili Peppers who also plays the second solo on the song) you know you're in for a rocking good time. The song basically follows a format (shocking for the Volta) of space funk verses balanced out by slow and sexy salsa choruses. Prior to the third chorus, drummer Jon Theodore plays sumthin like a 15 second drum solo. After each chorus, the listener is treated to a guitar solo and on the outro a guitar solo and piano solo fuse together before fading off into the sunset amid tons of ambient noise which only leads into.....

4.Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore-5 more minutes of ambience!!!! Oh joy!!! This song is a little bit overkill on the ambience. This is basically a 5 maybe 6 minute song extended to 13 minutes. Alone, it would suck. In the context of the album though, it works. The first four minutes of ambiene sound like the intro to Televators offa De-Loused except it's hyper extended. At about the four minute mark, a trumpet can be heard along with song light acoustic strumming which wouldn't sound out of place in the Kill Bill movies. At about 4:30, the song itself starts off in its haunting acousticness. The band is backed by violins and other orchestral instruments on this mostly acoustic piece which rocks out around the 8:15 mark only to fizzle out at the 9:00 mark in which ambient noise then builds up to the albums centerpiece...

5-12.Cassandra Gemini-A 30 minute opus stretched out over 8 tracks with enough twists and turns to make one's head explode. Guitar solos are extremely abundant along with the constant backing of the orchestra which includes a flute on this song and a saxophone solo which lasts approximately 2-3 minutes. Even a shredding bass solo occurs somewhere towards the end of the 7th track. Overall, this song is extremely excited and mostly fast paced and will likely not put you to sleep. Ambient pauses and jazzy jamming only give way to insane guitar freakouts and excellent singing. The song climaxes beautifully and ends with the same acoustic strummings that gave way to Cygnus....Vismund Cygnus.

Overall, this is a great piece of work that needs to be digested before it is judged. If you've never listened to the Mars Volta before you should listen to their albums chronologically and one you feel that you've fully wrapped your mind around each individual album, move onto the next one. It's what I did and it has made the Mars Volta my biggest current musical influence. Still, this is a great piece of work for the already initiated fan and is soo off the wall in its creativity and blatant disregard for the mainstream yet it is being embraced as this technically 12 song but really 1 song album was number 4 this week on the billboard charts. That's my two cents. Go buy this great piece of work now and check out one of their shows.