The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute (2005)

Guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala disbanded their previous band At the Drive-In desiring a new musical vehicle that would provide them more flexibility and variation than the punk and hardcore roots they felt they were pigeonholed into. They pursued this new artistic vision with their biggest and best-selling project to date with its richly diverse sounds, The Mars Volta. The Mars Volta is an eclectic mix of jazz, punk, progressive-rock, salsa, Latin music, and a myriad of other musical sub-genres and appeals to a highly varied audience.

Frances the Mute, their second studio album experiments with many intense sounds and ideas. The album follows a mysterious story which is told through the ghostly and powerful sounds composed by Rodriguez-Lopez and the haunting and strongly liturgic and poetic lyrics written and sung by Bixler-Zavala. The album displays a deep jazz influence, while at the same time infusing a Latin flavor into many songs, most obviously in "L'Via L'Viaquez." During a short breakdown in "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus," a lengthy guitar solo by Rodriguez-Lopez is played over a jazz-fusion type of style, and this intense jazzy style is also portrayed in a build up to the epic finale of the album in the 32 minute long progressive-rock suite and closer, "Cassandra Gemini" (which is split up into 8 tracks because of its length). Rodriguez-Lopez also experimented a lot in this album with the concept of ambience. With his lengthy ambience and random sounds, including trippy beats and noises at the end of "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" and the sounds of Coqui frogs for nearly the first 4 minutes of "Miranda, That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore," Rodriguez-Lopez helps gradually build the intended mood and helps to settle and let your ears take a break after the climatic blasts that blow the listener away in every song. The title track, "Frances the Mute" was originally meant to be the first track of the album but was removed from the CD release as it did not fit on the CD-R without making a double album, which the band did not wish to do. The song serves as a prelude or prequel to the rest of the album, and is thus considered the first track of the album, leading into "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus."

The various sounds and moods generated from this masterpiece can appeal to a huge audience and definitely take the listener through quite a journey. If you're looking for an intense and epic listening experience, Frances the Mute by The Mars Volta is precisely what you need.

Genres: Progressive rock, psychedelic rock, experimental rock, jazz/jazz fusion, Latin

1. "Frances the Mute" - 14:36
   
2. "Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" - 13:02
   
3. "The Widow" - 5:51
   
4. "L'Via L'Viaquez" - 12:22
   
5. "Miranda, That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore" - 13:10
   
6. "Cassandra Gemini I" - 4:46
   
7. "Cassandra Gemini II" - 6:40
   
8. "Cassandra Gemini III" - 2:56
   
9. "Cassandra Gemini IV" - 7:41
   
10. "Cassandra Gemini V" - 5:00
    
11. "Cassandra Gemini VI" - 3:49
    
12. "Cassandra Gemini VII" - 0:47
    
13. "Cassandra Gemini VIII" - 0:54
    

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