Review Summary: Bienvenido Luz de Luna
The Mars Volta returned in 2022 after a ten year period of being broken up/being on hiatus - the chosen conclusion being dependent on who you were to ask at the time. Having established a deep body of work spread across six albums, founders Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala seemed to focus on sharpening their virtuosic playing and bizarrely wonderful and unique sonic universe over learning how to communicate healthily as adults. You can get both sides of their story in various interviews throughout the years - though most of the real talk comes from Cedric - but for brevity's sake, it can be accurately summed up as the pair finally having had their first legitimate disagreement with one another; One that would lead to the breakup/hiatus of the band and a period of what we refer to colloquially as "the cold shoulder" being given from both men to one another.
This period wasn't exceptionally long-lived, the pair rekindling their friendship and partnership soon afterward and starting a new band (Antemasque), continuing with the resurrection of an old one (At The Drive-In), and just being good ol' buds again. Of course, this led to an increasing barrage of questions concerning the reunion of The Mars Volta that were met with vague, but positive answers that they intended to do something new down the line. To the delight of fans, the band followed through with this last year. However, something was different this time.
This "something new" was an album that was almost aggressively separated from their previous body of work. Long gone were the hyperactive time signature changes, excised were the jazz/rock/guitar wank freakouts that were responsible for so many signature moments from albums like 'Deloused In The Comatorium', 'Francis The Mute', and 'The Bedlam In Goliath'. The pair made such a conscious effort to NOT sound like The Mars Volta, that it might have, ironically, been the MOST Mars Volta-like thing they could've done at that moment in time (considering the band was birthed as an attempt to get away from the constricts of the alternative rock/post hardcore leanings of At The Drive-In).
This "something new" instead chose to fully embrace a more pop driven sound, a real "Sunday morning drive" collection of tunes that focused on intimate vocal performances, lush "vintage" electronic soundscapes, and some of Cedric's most upfront and sobering lyrics focusing on the hardships encountered by him and his wife as they cut ties with the Church of Scientology. This change in sound was obviously met with varied reactions from fans (though it was almost universally critically acclaimed, a relatively rare accomplishment for the band).
When I listen to the self-titled, I'm almost amused at how bright a fair portion of it sounds when juxtaposed with the darkness of the lyrics. There are no journeys to sonic hellscapes like those displayed in "Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt", "Day of The Baphomets" and "Ring of Nembutals". Instead, songs like "Blacklight Shine", "Vigil", and "The Requisition" bathe the listener in an auditory equivalent of sunshine. Of course, there are still moody pieces like "Flashburns From Flashbacks", but I feel like the shimmery quality of the instrumentation does a good job of hiding the inherent darkness that makeup the bulk of the album.
Now we have this thing: Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazón. A completely acoustic reworking of the self-titled album, this project takes a magnifying glass to the Latin elements of it's electric counterpart and injects them with steroids. Almost every track on this album has bongos, congas, timbales, shakers, you name it. It salsa's here, and bossa nova's there. For those who disliked the self-titled, this is probably still not going to be in your wheelhouse. Cedric is louder, and the songs are quieter. There are definite points where his vocals are so in the mix that any off note is that much more magnified and on display. "No Case Gain" also doesn't really work without the quasi-Devo vibe.
However, for those who DID like the album like me - and for those who are willing to travel to familiar places to sightsee at a different time of day - you will be rewarded with one of the most rich, nuanced, playful, and musical revisitations pressed to wax lately. The past lives of "Shore Story" and "Graveyard Love" leave behind their synth-drenched bodies and reincarnate as beautiful and percussive pieces boosted by Leo Genovese's impressive piano playing. "Blank Condolences" instrumental brings an almost tropical spy film vibe (a la 'Dr. No') to the fold. A common criticism I've seen of the self-titled is it's simplicity. With this project, the decision to put the listeners ear even closer to the melody and focus entirely on the songwriting really showcases some of the hidden complexity of songs like "Vigil" and "Tourmaline".
It's tough pinning highlights on this thing, because it's all so consistent and a pleasure to listen to, but I would definitely say that "Palm Full of Crux", a song written about the death of founding Volta member Jeremy Michael Ward, is even more emotionally investing with Cedric so close to the mic and the instruments being as quiet as they are. It almost feels like we're hovering above him singing this song at his grave. The same can be said for "Cerulea", which was already a tear jerker on the electric counterpart but now sports a vibe that I would only describe as the vocal equivalent of that long hallway scene near the end of Silent Hill 2 (for those non-nerds, it's big sad). Of course, the now title track also deserves some significant praise. Not only do I think it's Cedric's best performance on the album, it has such an infectious energy and cheeky showcase of instrumentation that I think it's short runtime is now finally justified and makes sense.
The album cover for the self-titled (which I'm not a huge fan of, admittedly), sports a bright and triumphant gold plate visual. To bring back what I said about a fair amount of it's songs being bright and "sunny", it's appropriate that this project's cover is given a more muted, dark silver plating. In the musical city that these songs occupy real estate in, the sun has disappeared across the horizon - and the moon is now on full display, showcasing the inherent darkness and beauty that these tracks have always had, but were never quite as visible as they are now.
