The Mars Volta

I'd been reading about this band called The Mars Volta for a long time but never really got around to listening to them, and suddenly Pavan messages me saying they are good. And since Pavan listens to good music when he's not watching interesting movies like Tara Rum Pum Pum, I took his word for it and started listening to them.

Well, right enough, the band is brilliant. A very progressive rock/pop band, each of their albums is distinctly different. They've experimented with themes, and no themes, instrument layouts and more. As far as criticism goes, I can't really say the lyrics make a lot of sense to me, but then, I'm quite shallow.

Of the albums I've heard, Amputechture (2006) and Octahedron (2009) are my favorites. They're more melancholy, slower, and for want of a better word, atmospheric. Bedlam in Goliath is a frantic, faster album, while Frances the Mute is a theme-based, slow album.

Try it out - I'm giving The Mars Volta 2 thumbs up.