As big of a fan of the dearly departed At The Drive-In as I still am, it took me a while to really dig in to the various groups that have splintered from the El Paso band’s 2001 break-up. Truth be told, I had rather enjoyed what I had heard from both The Mars Volta (which is built around ATDI’s Omar and Cedric) as well as Sparta. For one reason or another, I just simply never connected with either band the way I had with their somewhat legendary original project. That began to change at last year’s ACL Festival, however. Waiting to meet up with the people that were to be my ride back to my hotel, I caught The Mars Volta set and was enthralled. The fact that I was seemingly a full mile’s distance from the stage really bore no ill effects on my experience. They tore it up. I felt like I was watching the kick-ass love child of a noodling Jam band and some twisted, dramatic Prog-rock ensemble.
This week, I’ll be working my way through The Mars Volta’s newest release, Octahedron. This past week, I spent some quality time with their 2008 release, Bedlam in Goliath. It is sweeping, dramatic and at times, simply head-scratching and full-throttle. Below are some goodies I have found recently that I enjoyed…
8 Responses
I had to do a double take when I read the headline.
why?!? i know i focus on rootsy/countryish type stuff, but i can be pinned down…i’m like a vegetarian that wears fur…a democrat that doesnt think gearoge w. was really so bad…
Ohhhhhh…its like finger nails on a chalkboard. It hurts me…and not in a good way.
Have you checked out MGMT?
Really Dave? get specific, what is it exactly? I have heard about MGMT and have been meaning to check them out, but I’ll admit to being leary of their hipster-hyped status….
The guys voice is the worst part for me. Plus I know the music has a beat but I am not a fan of the sounds so random and full throttle playing that you have to really try and find the beat with all your might. And then as soon as you find it we are gonna change it to something else for a half a second. Just never liked them at all.
Check out MGMT, I can not even count the number of times I have listened to Oracular Spectacular. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was into the 100′s of times. The only bad part is that I really don’t think they can follow it up at the same level.
See I have always dug that aspect. I have always enjoyed the jammy-hippy bands that go on randome tangents,a nd i guess i like that here too…also, seeing it live was really cool. they tore the stage up.
I’ve always been a massive fan of TMV. The Recording of Goliath at the top didn’t have the greatest sound either.
It’s one of those bands that needs to be listened to on an amazing stereo, otherwise you just can’t get it all.