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More bais reviews. It's not for everyone. Love them or hate them, there's no middle ground. It took me a few years before I actually "got" the sound they make. It sounds messy to a lot of people. But it's actually not, it's complex. Messy means it doesn't make sense musically. Complex means it's not easy. You'll get used to it. Now the sound is wired in me. I need it. I love the Mars Volta for everything they are. No one makes music as intense as them.
Frances the Mute is more of a trip album that Deloused. It's separated into five songs, more like five sections that slow seamlessly and needs to be listened in order all at once. Dedicate the time or you'll fall short. My favorite aspect of this album is how they ditched the spacey acid rock of Deloused and traded it for a latin fusion psychedelic trippy thing. You hear it right away.
The album opens with Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus and lone spanish acoustic guitars and soon blasts with full force into what sounds like Santana on speed. The verses in that song feature some of the tightest guitar work by Omar doing this fast passed latin funk thing and you're just trying to follow along with out falling behind of the sound. Once the track slows down you feel like you've just listened to three songs. They then proceed to go into my favorite Volta jam, which you can count of hearing during a 30+ minute jam session at their live shows (seen them 3 times, played it all 3 shows). It's like this weird time signature bass line and guitar over that which Omar modestly solos over. Second most beautiful moment of the album.
Next track is The Widow, which might be their most popular song. Great single, nice and shot at 5 minutes. It's basically and epic classic rock sounding song. Lots of face melting guitar solos, lots of horns, lots of trippyness.
After that comes 12 minutes of sheer chaos in L'Via L'Viaquez. The guitar solos will literally blow your mind in this one. It's their most latin sounding song and it's a crowd pleaser. Cedric sings in spanish about avenging his mothers death or something weird thing. (the story they're telling in this album comes from a real journal they found in the glove compartment in a used car they bought) The bass is sooo heavy in this song. Lots of hazy stuff and salsa piano in the refrains.
Now we hit the half way mark. It begins to get darker, no turning back now. Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore is split into 4 parts. The first is the most beautiful and romantic sound TMV have ever created. The horns make this song. Complete psychosis follows in the next sections of the song. Lots of jazz flute, saxophone, distorted vocals and fucked up time signatures. After Miranda comes Cassandra Geminni, also in five parts. Powerful song.
If you've listened to the full album, you'll likely not listen to anything else for a few hours after that, as you're pretty worn out. Over all, it's The Mars Volta at their most hazy and trippy, it literally smells like bong smoke.
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