The Mars Volta
Frances the Mute

THE REVIEW

I must say that I wouldn't know how to define the genre: in "Frances the Mute," the Mars Volta really let their creativity run wild, perhaps too much so... I would say that the experimental digressions attempted by Cedric Bixler and company are, perhaps, improbable for those trying to listen to the album. Already in the previous album, in my opinion more listenable and very beautiful, the MV still carry the sounds, much more personalized, of the former group "At the Drive In"; but in this album (5 tracks in total) the concept-album idea reaches extreme limits. In more than an hour of the album, one can consider about fifteen minutes of songs, the rest pure madness.

The first track "Cygnus vismund Cygnus" offers rhythms perceptible only after some repeated listening, "The Widow" is perhaps the most listenable and catchy song if you disregard the 10 minutes of digression that drags on after the end of the song. The fourth track is a very successful attempt at epic-psychedelic.

But I wouldn't want to downplay the Mars Volta too much as I still believe they are a great band, but to truly understand their quality, I think this album isn't the most suitable.