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Mars Volta Shows Softer Side

Album still rocks, even pared-down

By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 22, 2009 2:25 PM CDT

(Newser) – With the latest release, Mars Volta has lived up to its “best prog-rockers of 2008” title, writes Mike Ragogna for the Huffington Post. Octahedron “may bang a little less, but musically competes with most classic albums of that genre.” And—good news for anyone put-off by the band’s tendency toward the obscure—it’s also “their most accessible album yet.”

The almost-acoustic music “gives this vessel a mystic coat of paint,” Ragogna continues. “Though some tracks do rock, this is a brand of Volta we've only heard hints of on earlier records, and their version of ‘acoustic’ is really just relative.” Fans who are a bit let down by the “mellow” pace and “somewhat pared-down” music will be happy to discover that “the lyrics still kick and claw.”

In this CD cover image released by Warner Bros., the latest by The Mars Volta, Octahedron, is shown.
In this CD cover image released by Warner Bros., the latest by The Mars Volta, "Octahedron," is shown.   (AP Photo/Warner Bros.)
The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Alfredo Rodriguez-Lopez performs during the Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn., Saturday, June 13, 2009.
The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Alfredo Rodriguez-Lopez performs during the Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn., Saturday, June 13, 2009.   (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Cedric Bixler-Zavala, of the musical group The Mars Volta, accept the award for best hard rock performance, for Wax Simulacra, at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009, in Los Angeles.
Cedric Bixler-Zavala, of the musical group The Mars Volta, accept the award for best hard rock performance, for Wax Simulacra, at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009, in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
Spydiggity
Jun 23, 2009 5:11 AM CDT
i was a big fan of theirs after deloused. but they have steadily gone down hill since then. and this album simply sucks.

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