Album Review: Noctourniquet The Mars Volta

With each successive album the masses seem to grow a little less endeared toward The Mars Volta, and while the release of Noctourniquet will be overshadowed by At The Drive-In's reunion, there's still much to celebrate. By this point Volta mastermind Omar Rodriquez-Lopez has long thrown out traditional notions of constancy in favour of a creative approach synonymous with change. The album art has taken a drastic turn from the surreal toward a more minimal preference, drummer Thomas Pridgen has been replaced with wunderkind Deantoni Parks, and as a first, Ikey Owens and John Frusciante are absent from the process.

It also sees a formal progression that distances the band further from the formula of the first two albums. While Aegis and Molochwalker conjure joints of old, they've mostly departed from the tight, complex prog-explosions which defined their sound. Electronic elements play a greater role, but where Copernicus showed an intervention of said elements, these compositions assimilate them through a fully realised synthesis. As The Malkin Jewel tumbles over itself, Cedric Bixler-Zavala sharply interjects with a chorus amongst his finest to date. The same can be said for Vedamalady, a bittersweet jewel where every element comes together in seamless brilliance.

The Mars Volta have pushed on through new realms of maturity and progression to deliver one of the finest albums of the year thus far. And all this while the main creative force is producing solo albums, directing films and playing live shows; a commendable effort!