The Marts Volta – Frances the Mute Well, Tuesday, March 1st marks the release of one of MY most anticipated albums in quite some time. The Mars Volta will be putting out their 2nd full length album, Frances the Mute. I got a hold of a pre-release copy a few months ago, and despite the crappy quality of the version I found, it has been a steady member of my playlist lately.
While only containing 5 tracks, the album spans almost 80 minutes, and does not disappoint if you’re a Mars Volta fan. Some of it is a bit … self-indulgent, or pretentious … with the ambient sounds going on in parts for way too long, but overall it’s one of the most amazing albums I’ve heard in quite some time. The Mars Volta does such a great job of mixing elements of indie rock, metal, prog rock, and tons of other subgenres into a very cohesive, powerful series of songs.
While they’ll never call it a ‘concept album’, Frances the Mute is essentially that. The silence between songs is a distraction to the guys, and they do a fine job of making the entire album flow from start to finish, taking you on an extraordinary journey. Some of the “movements” are some of the most chaotic, frenzied songs I’ve heard from them, others (like The Widow) remind me a lot of Televators, a slower ballad type song that slowly brings you to another hard hitting song.
The final song on this CD is almost a half hour long, so there is a lot for everyone. The cool thing is, I’ve been seeing reviews all over for this album before it’s even out. That’s very promising, as I’d like to see them have some commercial success.
Due to the simple fact that all but one song on this album is less than 8 minutes (The Widow), it’s not likely they’ll get a ton of radio airplay. However, even the simple fact they’re getting such critical acclaim should help them do well in stores. Anywho, I recommend this album whole heartedly.
It did take a week or so to really grow on me, but it’s quickly become my favorite album in quite some time. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the final copy, which will undoubtedly sound ten times better.