The Mars Volta began as a progressive rock outfit formed by founding and only consistent members Omar Rodríguez-López on the guitar and Cedric Bixler-Zavala on vocals and lyrics. They’ve made acclaimed albums such as “Frances the Mute” and “De-Loused in the Comatorium,” recognized for their intensity and complexity.
However, in recent times the band has strayed away from these sounds and embraced Latin culture, and more recently, electronic production as a means of enhancing the live-recorded instrumentation and giving it more nuance.
Some fans felt alienated by this shift from strictly progressive rock and pessimism by the mediocre but different-sounding self-titled album. However, with their latest effort, “Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacio,” the band does a better job at displaying this new sound in a well-flowing curation, giving a glimpse of what the future of the band could sound like.
The album begins with “Fin,” which functions as an intro track to the album. It starts with the gorgeous lyrics “And if you feel betrayed, alone and rejected, and the air that you’re breathing turns blue, you’ll find that the grudge you hold draws from infection, will rot its way out from you” over this lush and pretty synth layer.
“Reina tormenta” must be jarring for progressive rock fans primed to enjoy longer songs. The song is only a minute and 10 seconds. There’s something post-apocalyptic about the lyric “Run towards the storm comin’, trample the way, bring me closer, siphon every little constant threat, trace me closer, soon it will all disappear.”
Could this song be more fleshed out with its sick and glorious synth and drum pattern? Of course. However, the song doesn’t overstay its welcome and it flows perfectly into the next song.
“Enlazan las tinieblas” sounds like a Latin crime noir soundtrack with the combination of hand drums, saxophone and guitar. The lyric “Who’s the razor sewn into your palm? Don’t forget how they broke you into pieces. No more Exodus, no exegesis” stood out for its intense yet cryptic imagery. An exegesis is a critical or explanatory analysis of a text, but especially the Bible. The song gets more psychedelic near the end with the repeated lyric “Halo round and round.”
“Mictlán” feels like an interlude of sorts, although it has a brief verse. The lyrics expand on the post-apocalyptic imagery, such as “From now until doomsday, I’ll be the albatross that hangs, so let it hang. 10 thousand phantoms underneath; can you feel my hands? They’re keepin’ me safe when I can’t see through a dead parliament of watchful eyes.”
“The Iron Rose” is pretty mellow with its synth, the drums giving it a texture. The lyric “Watchin’ me close to endless sleep, then you should know that it’s not safe inside my mind” resonated a lot for its description of mental illness and suicidality. It’s put simply but effectively.
“Cue the Sun” has the best synth line on the album, sounding like a horn of some sort. The way it layers with the bass is exquisite. There are two standout lyrics: “Tell me how to hide the suspicion rottin’ in my belly like a cosmic hearse” and the chorus “They don’t want you to know they hide what you see, all the people you’ll hurt if you refuse to cue the sun.”
These lyrics are still cryptic, but the imagery of the first lyric and the sense of responsibility as a sort of ethical dilemma in the second lyric were striking personally.
The beginning of “Alba del orate” sounds like something someone like experimental rapper Danny Brown would rap on. There’s a great but short guitar solo over the synths from “Cue the sun” before the lyrics come in.
The lyric “These numbing pools have lost their touch” particularly stood out for its description of increased tolerance to things that used to pacify us, the more you use them.
“Celaje” has a foreboding bassline for part of the song’s duration. The vocoder vocals were a nice touch to the song. The lyric “And if you’ll call for branded flesh, what brittle reason do you have for us to not exist?” is very thought-provoking with its reflections on death by murder.
“Mito de los trece cielos” is an instrumental track that honestly doesn’t sound that good with the flute-like instrumentation. It sounds amateur, but the redeeming quality of this song is the subtle electronic textures.
“Un disparo al vacío” is one of the best songs on the album with its fluid shifting of sounds and languages. The bit crush on some of the vocals was an excellent touch. The lyric “All I’ve ever known was cauterized, you’re runnin’ through my veins” is a dismal yet intriguing scene set like a car crash.
“Morgana” contender for the best vocal performance on the album. The lyric “I can’t let you call the darkness to save everybody” is a callback to “Cue the Sun.” This juxtaposition of lyrics begs the question of whether the sun and darkness are euphemisms for religions like Christianity and Satanism, respectively.
If that wasn’t enough to convince you, the second verse has the lyric “The Seraphim are watchin’ you hunt all of them down.” A reprise of “Cue the Sun” follows this track and uses lyrics previously on the original “Cue the Sun” and “Morgana.”
“Lucro Sucio” has the interesting lyric “To a hole in your heart where God’s never slept” that helps set up the climactic final battle between good and evil, but before the album could get there, it ends on a cliffhanger.
The old Mars Volta will probably never come back. They’re growing and expanding with a different sound. For what it is, this was a pleasant listen.
Rating: 3.5/5