ALBUM REVIEW: Octahedron - The Mars Volta

By Mark Miller

Led by the symbiotic writing combo of guitarist / composer / producer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and lyricist / conceptualist / vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, The Mars Volta is one of the most purposeful bands in rock. Lopez and Zavala front a first-rate outfit – including perpetual Volta studio guest, lead guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers – as their explorations continue with their latest effort, Octahedron (Warner Bros.).

While not 2008’s wall-to-wall masterpiece, The Bedlam in Goliath, Octahedron may appeal to those preferring a more yielding side of the preeminent prog-rock band of the 21st century. It’s also a shorter, more spontaneous effort than some of TMV’s previous concept albums, like 2005’s Frances the Mute. 

Yet as always, The Mars Volta has higher pretensions; “Since We’ve Been Wrong” opens with a deliberate, single rising tone that evokes the overture of Wagner’s classic, Das Rheingold. Bixler-Zavala’s subject matter on the acoustic-driven, sweetly melodic “Wrong” is more accessible than Goliath’s occult revelations: “Do you remember how you wore that dress…it slit my sight beneath the eyelids.”

“Teflon” signals a sonic step in the direction explored on Goliath’s "Ilyena" with its ironic dance construct, yet the song’s overtly political lyrics are emblematic of the band’s descent from the metaphysical realm to the physical plane, both musically and lyrically on Octahedron.

Despite another arresting Bixler-Zavala melody line and a jazzy percussive outro led by drummer Thomas Pridgen, “Halo of Nembutals” is largely unmemorable, an accusation that could not be made regarding a single Goliath track.

Perhaps the best titled song on any album in 2009, “With Twilight as My Guide” is sufficiently dreamy and eventually spacey, though the album defies expectations by not delivering an expected bombastic payoff, as if TMV is assuring the listener this is indeed their ‘acoustic album’ despite Internet scuttlebutt to the contrary.

“Cotopaxi” is a resumption of some of the prog-pop stabs that Rodriguez-Lopez hinted at with 2006’s Amputechture and which are investigated more thoroughly on Octahedron. “Copernicus” drops another barbiturate on the listener and the addition of electronic percussion midway seems forced rather than synergistically satisfying, though there are subtly absorbing elements of guitar and piano interplay that could shine through with repeated listening. 

The wise and fitting closer “Luciforms” initiates with a similar orchestral rise as the opener, “Wrong,” but soon expands to offer some of the album’s most dynamic musical moments and arresting lyrics. On “Luciforms,” one is genuinely interested to see where the signature changes are going to manifest, with blistering guitar leads into baroque swing, although the overall impression is again of a softer nature than the established TMV approach. 

Bypassing the established is the aim here; for the first time on a The Mars Volta album, the emphasis seems to be on evoking mood and atmosphere rather than producing transcendent music with a capital “M” adhered to mind-bending vocal passages. While not ambient by any stretch, it is a new path for the band. Octahedron is the TMV album to listen to after you’ve tripped too hard and freaked out on all the previous releases; this is the one to come down to until you’re ready for silence.