The Mars Volta
Octahedron

I waited a few days to see if someone more skillful than me at writing would talk to us about this latest effort by Mars Volta, but since no one has come forward, I’m venturing to review a newly released album for the first time.

"Octahedron" is the band's fifth studio album, which comes out about a year and a half after the last "The Bedlam in Goliath". It is an album with various differences compared to previous ones: the first noticeable point is clear as soon as you insert the CD into the player: the total duration is only 50 minutes instead of the usual seventy or so.

Overall, the material listened to highlights the intimate and less show-off vein of the American group: three songs are almost completely acoustic, while the remaining five more "electric" ones are not exaggeratedly over the top as these eclectic and versatile musicians often like to do.

Cedric seems to have listened to me and moves away from that bad turn which in my opinion had begun to appear in some phases of "Amputechture", becoming at times unbearable: here he finally almost entirely sings in a way that's agreeable, as I like it, without screams, falsettos and damnably exaggerated effects. To give you an idea of my opinion, listen to how he sings (excellently, in my opinion) in "The Widow" and how he sings (annoyingly) at the beginning of "Aberinkula", where it seems as if he is being Aberinkula-ed. Then, maybe someone will disagree, but I’ve said my piece.

I would like to focus on two other elements of the group. I’ll start with Omar Rodriguez Lopez. I think in the more "rocking" songs, his solo contribution is missing: in fact, we hear just one solo in the last track "Luciforms". Perhaps he’s set aside his ballistic feats for the next 18,000 albums he’ll release this year with his side projects; however, the fact is that the album in question loses a bit of its edge. Moving on to Thomas Pridgen who in the previous album seemed eager to stand out at all costs, almost willing to do everything to prevent anyone from missing (sometimes successfully) the former drummer Jon Theodore: here instead, he tones it down and limits himself to doing an honest job well without too many flashy tricks, which I believe will only be postponed to the next album.

A few words about individual songs: a great slow and emotional opener "Since I've Been Wrong", which however must yield the title of best semi-acoustic song of the album to the stunning "With Twilight As My Guide", truly goosebump-inducing. Also good is the other calm track "Copernicus", except for an irritating insertion of electronic percussion, which I personally hate like mosquitoes and which I believe in a song primarily based on acoustic guitar is not quite like cheese on macaroni.

Among the other more "Heavy" tracks, I highlight the excellent "Teflon" and "Desperate Graves", which has a melody that at times reminds me of "Careless Whisper" by Wham!.

It is definitely a transitional album for Mars Volta, enjoyable and less challenging to listen to, yet still good.

4 stars for generosity.