Frances The Mute

KillerGremlin · 02-27-2005, 05:10 PM

So, I don't know how many of you are fans of The Mars Volta, or emo for that matter, but on Tuesday, the new Mars Volta CD comes out, Frances The Mute.

The Mars Volta is a pretty popular band, but, they are one of the few mainstream bands that I honestly give a damn about nowadays.

I've had my pirated copy of the CD for about 2 months, and I've only listened to it once or twice. I've been trying to preserve the originality of the CD. The thing is, the final version has been changed from 5 tracks, one clocking in at 31 minutes, to 15 tracks - which means the whole CD has been broken down - for simple listening. That sort of upsets me, because I would rather see a band be more gutsy and take a stab at appealing to a smaller audience, but whatever.

Circuit City is selling the CD for $5.99, so I'm thinking this is a steal. I plan to pick my copy up on Tuesday. Any comments?

DarrenMcLeod · 02-27-2005, 06:39 PM

This album is great... even though they did split up the 5 songs you can't really tell, it just makes it easier to skip sections of songs. There are still the 13 minute songs of experimentation that you'd expect from Cedric and Omar.

I wouldn't really classify it as emo though like you did... they are a far cry from whats being considered emo these days.

KillerGremlin · 02-27-2005, 07:03 PM

Yeah, emo really is a bad classification of the band.

I'd say they are progressive rock, but maybe more experimental progressive rock.

How much have you listened to it, and do you think it's better then De-Loused?

Dyne · 02-27-2005, 08:01 PM

The Mars Volta is neither Emo or Progressive rock. They've said so themselves. They said the best description for the band would be "A rock band trying to be a salsa band." So, It would be Salsa rock.

De-loused is one of my favourite albums. I haven't heard any of the new album and I'll be picking it up as soon as I can.

Typhoid · 02-27-2005, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyne

The Mars Volta is neither Emo or Progressive rock. They've said so themselves. They said the best description for the band would be "A rock band trying to be a salsa band." So, It would be Salsa rock.

It doesnt matter what a band calls themselves, its classified by style, not by what the band says.

If the Backstreet Boys said they did Hardcore Death Metal, by your standards, that would make them do Hardcore Death Metal.

And I also wouldnt call The Mars Volta mainstream. They are never on the radio, and never on TV, I never hear news about them, and consequently, never hear any songs.

And they can be Emo.

Or Emo-Rock.

Dyne · 02-27-2005, 08:51 PM

Emo is such a dumbass label.

All music is "emotional." "Emo" music is really just sad, woeful music to me. They should label all emo music "DEPRESSING" music, not EMOTIONAL. With that aside, The Mars Volta is hardly ever depressing.

But it's true that the Mars Volta isn't that mainstream. When their sound engineer died and the news was spread out, everybody was like.. "Who's The Mars Volta?"

They're in tight-knit with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and they opened for them, for a tour.

The Germanator · 02-27-2005, 09:49 PM

I've heard some of The Mars Volta and I'm not that into it. I'll listen to some more on the network later and maybe my opinion will change a bit.

KillerGremlin · 02-27-2005, 09:55 PM

Well, At The Drive in got big for a week, and The Mars Volta was basically At The Drive In's spawn. Yeah, The Mars Volta isn't exactly big, but Frances The Mute is ranked #22 on Amazon.com right now, so someone must have some interest in the band.

The Mars Volta has always had an appeal to me.....I don't think they are as soincally cohesive as At The Drive In was, but I think that's just the way they are. They're a jam band - so yeah, I guess you could call them Salsa rock. I still think they have a slight progressive side to their music, of course, it's nothing compared to what bands like Dream Theater or Dark Tranquillity have done, but meh.

Like I said before, for 6 dollars, you really can't go wrong with The Mars Volta. And yeah....the emo trend thing is pretty stupid. =/

The Germanator · 02-27-2005, 11:17 PM

Alright, well I listened to some more of them tonight, and my opinion definitely worsened. They just aren't my type of thing. I'm not really into songs that are 8-12 minutes long. I'd rather have nice quick pop song in 3-4 minutes than some unnecessary noise for 10 minutes. Jamming is just not my thing when it comes to listening to music.

Dyne · 02-28-2005, 01:50 AM

Is The Widow on Frances the Mute? I saw the music video about a week ago and I thought it was crap. If the rest of the album is like that, then I don't think I'll buy it right away.

Maybe De-loused was only good because Flea did the bass. And John Fruiscante was in Cicatriz ESP.

jeepnut · 02-28-2005, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Germanator

Alright, well I listened to some more of them tonight, and my opinion definitely worsened. They just aren't my type of thing. I'm not really into songs that are 8-12 minutes long. I'd rather have nice quick pop song in 3-4 minutes than some unnecessary noise for 10 minutes. Jamming is just not my thing when it comes to listening to music.

You should get Norma Jean's new record then!

Oh...wait, you said no to the unnecessary noise. Well dang.

Well, March 1st is the day for anyone who likes sceaming, feedback, thunderous drums, and almost zero melody in their music.

The Germanator · 02-28-2005, 01:04 PM

Here is a review of Frances The Mute if anyone is interested... http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record...the-mute.shtml

And Jeepnut...yes, that sounds exactly what I DO NOT want to listen to.

Dyne · 02-28-2005, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Germanator

Here is a review of Frances The Mute if anyone is interested... http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record...the-mute.shtml

Interesting review, to say in the least.

I'll have to preview it before I buy it.

KillerGremlin · 02-28-2005, 04:24 PM

You have to read multiple reviews before you make an assessment. I listened to it again last night, and there was a lot of good stuff on the CD, but some of the filler got annoying. On the other hand, I have a decent collection of prog music, music that has "officially" been dubbed prog, so long-winded songs and ambience don't bother me.

Hell, try sitting through Fantomas' Delirium Cordia. It's 1 song, 74 minutes long. More ambience then music probably, hehe. Delirium Cordia Reviews (amazon)

KillerGremlin · 03-01-2005, 06:57 PM

So, I just picked up my copy of Frances The Mute. It was 6.44 with tax. I have to say, I'm pretty damn impressed with the CD so far. Some of the vocal sections go into a firey passion, and that brings back fond memories of At The Drive In. I will say that there is some annoying filler, and the band feels that it is neccessary to put 2 minutes of "noise" at the end of each track. That aside, the CD is actually very creative, with a lot of nice jam parts, and it reminds me of a lot of different things. I think the seperation of tracks has actually helped, and the CD is better now then it was back when I downloaded it a while ago. My second complaint is the big ass anti-piracy warning on the CD, which is ironic, because I had the CD a long time ago. Overall though, the flow of the music does feel a lot better when it's not one giant track with about 15 minutes of lumped in filler.

Anyway, I recommend that you at least look into this CD if you are a fan of Sparta, At The Drive In, or The Mars Volta. However, this is a far cry away from being "album of the year," and you really have to appreciate what these guys do to get into the music.

That said, I'm thinking 3.2/5 right now, or 6.4/10 which looks better.