When
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
and
Cedric Bixler-Zavala
silenced
At the Drive-In
in the midst of its popular emergence, there was no question that the two artists would return with new music as exciting as their previous band. However, there was plenty of discussion in corners and over drinks about what, exactly, that music would sound like. It was clear that much more was happening under those Afros than biting, post-
hardcore
anthemics laced with
psychedelia
. In 2002,
Rodriguez-Lopez
Bixler-Zavala
returned with the single
"Tremulant,"
attributed to their new project,
the Mars Volta
. Its shifting soundscapes were certainly a hint, but with
's ambitious
De-Loused in the Comatorium
, it's clear the
ATDI
expats' mushroom-headed hairstyles hide bulging brains that pulsate with ideas, influences, and a fever-pitch desire to take music forward, even if they're occasionally led too far afield for the audience to follow. A concept album of sorts,
Comatorium
is a swirling ten-song cycle inspired by
Julio Venegas
, a childhood friend of the band who followed his fearlessness to a self-inflicted end. While the storyline is bewilderingly obtuse, it nevertheless unifies the album's wildly shifting sounds. Thrumming,
Led Zeppelin
-inspired pounding gives way to the thump of a
free jazz
bass punctuated with blasts of guitar squelch in
"Drunkship of Lanterns."
Meanwhile, the windswept landscape of
"Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)"
unfolds over seven minutes, revealing remnants of
, fissures of glittering, confessional
pop
, and layer upon sedimentary layer of a shrieking
, harmonizing with himself over vintage 1970s organ. All of this gives way to a gentle landslide of an outro, where an expressive guitar solo that would make
Carlos Santana
scratch his head threads its way between brooding bass. Later,
Red Hot Chili Peppers
secret weapon
John Frusciante
stops by for
"Cicatriz ESP,"
which undergoes a full stop after its relatively straightforward (for these guys, anyway) beginning, reentering the atmosphere to the fiery strains of at least three concurrently soloing guitarists. Though the brief-by-comparison
ATDI-ish
"Inertiatic ESP"
acts as an opposite to the epic
the band's ardent desire for re-creation is defined in the latter song's shifting folds and faults. But while
may well remove the stigma from the
prog
art rock
forms it suggests, and is certainly a monument to unbridled creativity, it can also be seen as bombastic and indulgent -- much like
has been in the past.
is exciting, to be sure. But in a way, it avoids answering that old question about
: What will the music sound like? ~ Johnny Loftus