FRANCES THE MUTE

First off, I would like to say that I think there a lot of misconceptions about this album. A lot of people feel like judging The Mars Volta before even listening there albums because of what their previous band, At The Drive-In, was. The Mars Volta is in no way an emo or even really a punk band. Understand that first. This site describes them as Art Rock, which I will except, but I believe that they are really just Prog in their purest form. The subject matter in Frances the Mute is overwhelmingly complex and if you don't understand it that is because you don't know Spanish and didn't feel like looking into the lyrics online. Also, with characters like Frances, Miranda and Cassandra pretty much automatically makes this album prog.

The way that Cedric and Omar write lyrics, it's true, is hard to get into but they really are quite interesting and awesome. All of the instrumental work in this album is FAR beyond anything a lot of prog bands even try to do and I feel that that is something that mixes people up when putting these guys in a genre. But this album is still truely a model of excellent prog-manship and I feel that it is an essential album to have for all hardcore proggers. However, if you are new to the scene you might want to wait a little on this one. You can't just listen to the album in a car or on the go you have to sit, relax and enjoy it. Then listen to it again and read up on the lyrics. Trust me. You will be extremely surprised on how spectacular this album is if you just give it a chance from an Art prospective.