The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute
By: Patrick Vu | Category: Album Archive | 03/31/05 | 12:04 AM
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Grade: C | Genre:
Rock
Summary: Frances is mute for a reason. There is no describing this album. Bandmates, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, have created a convoluted work of twists and turns that will knock you on your ass. Proceed with caution. |
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 After several rounds of The Mars Volta's Frances the Mute, I found myself totally worn and in a daze. Never before has an album over-worked my senses without myself having to put forth the slightest effort. Francis spits aggressive melancholy in your face, drags you through the mud, and never lets up. The funny thing is that for all the trials that you are put through, you do hear sparse occurrences of brilliance in the numbing compositions. One might even go as far as to say that it has the potential of becoming an album that will influence many future bands to come.
Francis begins with a melodic intro to "Cygnus...Vis,umd Cygnus." You ache as it echoes, "All my life I've been / Sewing the wounds / But the seeds sprout / A lachrymal cloud." However, you aren't given much time to make sense of the pain before "Cygnus" rips you apart with its thrashing drums and screaming guitars. It's a 13-minute roller coaster ride that'll leave you gasping for air.
"The Widow," the first single and only radio friendly song, totally misrepresents the band. It's a less abrasive first impression that misleads you into a world of chaos and destruction. The slower tempo allows for the bold lyrics to be heard miles away:
Freeze without an answer
Free from all the shame
Let me die
Cause I'll never
Never Sleep Alone
You can absolutely feel the sharp edges of the widow's broken heart.
"L'Via L'Viaquez" continues the hard work ethic of Francis, and just before you feel you can't take anymore, it transitions into a mello merengue beat that throws you up against the bar at your local Cantina.
"Miranda, That Ghost Just isn't Holy Anymore" and "Cassandra Gemini," both of which are 4 and 5 song epics, make up the bulk of the album and deserve to be their own releases. "Miranda" sounds like a Portishead score of the Phantom of the Opera, which "Cassandra" eventually takes over and mangles. With lyrics like "I've always wanted To eat glass with you again" and "She will skin you out alive / All the children go grinding their jaws / The sweet smell of their toothless canals," you find yourself far-far away from your happy place.
Francis holds your head under water from beginning to end and pulls you up just in time to experience the short and not so sweet "Cassandra Geminni - E- Sarcophagi." It's a flash of brilliance that opens the album and then closes the lid shut as you continue to peak in hoping to see more. Somehow you become a glutton for punishment because you just can't help but go back for more.
Frances is mute for a reason. There is no describing this album. Band mates, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, have created a convoluted work of twists and turns that will knock you on your ass. They deflect record label persuasions, which you have to respect, but end up alienating some listeners with their efforts.
Frances the Mute is the most trying album I've listened to in years. The genre jumping Spaniards will run you over like a truck, and when all is said and done, you're still getting dirt kicked in your face. The lyrics are some of the darkest that I've ever heard or read and, compounded with the fierce production, make for a gloomy afternoon while the sun brightly shines outside your window. Proceed with caution.
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