Mars Volta Shows Softer Side

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.” (More music stories.)