THE MARS VOLTA

Remember the short-lived phenomenon known as At The Drive In (ATDI)? You liked them, didn’t you? They made you feel like music wasn’t in the creative rut that radio Top 40 would have you believe it is. ATDI split up for who knows what reasons. There were rumors about personal differences among the band; next thing you know, the team split up.
But from the ashes of what should have been the next genuinely “big thing”, you got two new bands. Sparta (which has recently been touring all over the place) have gotten the jump start on filling the gap left by the former band. But not far behind is another group called The Mars Volta.
The voice of At The Drive In, Cedric Bixler, now fronts The Mars Volta. The sound of this record is chaotic, and tends to ramble on a bit. Imagine a modern version of sped-up jazz with too many electronics, and a bad case of attention deficit disorder.
Don’t get me wrong here, The Mars Volta are a progressive group who demand respect for their efforts to push the boundaries of modern rock. But, personally, the new EP, titled De-Loused in the Comatorium, smacks too much of tripped out, aggressive ranting.
Anyone who appreciated ATDI will be able to respect the music put forth by its former members. And The Mars Volta does take enough of the previous sound with them to carry the fans along. In fact, the fourth track, “Eunuch Provocateur”, is a reworked version of an ATDI song.
But check it out for yourself. It’s worth a listen.
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