LUCRO SUCIO: LOS OJOS DEL VACÍO

I was not super jazzed about this album in the period leading up to its release. The Mars Volta's 2022 self-titled was not a good record. I savaged it as being underbaked, half-assed, and overall un-Voltaic. Supposedly, the acoustic re-recording of that album from 2023 is better, but I haven't listened to it. I thought the underlying songwriting was weak enough that an aesthetic reshaping couldn't save it.

TMV's new album is Lucro sucio; Los ojos del vacio (Dirty Luck; the Eyes of Emptiness). It's 18 songs long, so that daunted me a bit at first glance. But the total runtime is under 50 minutes, so it's not as bad as I initially feared. I was dreading the prospect of something with the sound of their self-titled coupled with the length of Frances the Mute.

I'm happy to report my fears were largely misplaced. Lucro sucio is a huge improvement over The Mars Volta. The songs are relatively short, but they don't suffer from the same underdeveloped quality their reunion record had. Songs flow together smoothly, giving this a sense of cohesion the last album sorely lacked.

The album starts with a pair of songs that barely crack a minute: "Fin" is an airy, (mostly) a capella piece with a sweet atmosphere, and "Reina tormenta" features some interesting electronic elements. Despite these two songs adding up to less than two-and-a-half minutes, this is already showing a lot more promise than their self-titled. This proves you can write short songs without rushing things, which was a major issue on The Mars Volta.

Latin drumming, droning sax and eerie guitars give "Enlazan las tinieblas" an unsettling feeling. While distinct from the sounds of their heyday, this, unlike anything on TMV, actually feels like The Mars Volta. It's spooky and exciting, and everything feels meticulously crafted to feign chaos. Flowing directly from this song is "Mictlán", an eerie atmospheric piece.

"The Iron Rose" is a bit of a step back. Cedric's voice doesn't sound great here, and the writing feels a bit lazy. It's a slow and forlorn piece that doesn't do a ton. It's not awful, but after this album's strong opening, this was a noticeable downgrade.

"Cue the Sun" shows more promise with groaning guitars, throbbing synths, and hoarsely-muttered vocals giving this a tense and anxious aura. "Alba del orate" doesn't feel like a separate song, but more like the second half of "Cue the Sun". I love all the electronic touches, and even the relative simplicity of the indie rock flourishes feel like they belong.

Latin flavors are prominent in "Voice in My Knives". It especially reminds me of certain moments on Amputechture. This song slinks along, and I really like the percussion. The short runtime suits this side of Omar's songwriting well. "Poseedora de mi sombra" sees things start to veer off in a more experimental direction. Chords are slightly off-sounding, and it sees a sense of urgency build. Though, much like "Alba del orate", this feels more like the second half of the preceding song, rather than an independent composition.

The processed vocal effect that plagued Cedric on The Mars Volta returns on "Celaje", and it distracts from what is a pretty interesting composition. Jazz touches and rhythmic inventiveness hearken to some of this band's classic era works, especially on Frances the Mute and Amputechture. 

"Vociferó" isn't my favorite song here. Moody synths, lo-fi-hip-hop-sounding drums, and Cedric giving a middling vocal performance do not really add up to much.

Following a pointless little interlude, the next real song is "Un disparo al vacío". This is another unfortunate miss. Cedric's vocal cadence is awkward, and the backing is rather minimal. "Maullidos" continues with the torpid mood, and I feel like I've already heard this song elsewhere on this album. "Morgana" doesn't do much to stand out, either. At least the Mellotron flutes add a nice bit of texture.

After that disappointing run, we're treated to a reprise of "Cue the Sun". It provides some good momentum after three consecutive slow songs. It's lush and exciting, and it reinvigorates the record.

The album ends on "Lucro sucio". It sticks with the understated mood this album has cultivated so far, but it's the most akin to classic TMV. It's sinister and foreboding, and this song features a vocal effect that I like. I do wish the percussion were a bit more muscular, though. Parts of this song can border on soupy or mushy, and a stronger rhythmic backing may have helped this ill.

Lucro sucio is the best Mars Volta album in a while. It far outshines their self-titled, and I'd place this above Noctourniquet, too. I would still probably put Octahedron over this, but that has more to do with the sheer strength of songs like "Cotopaxi" and "Luciforms" than any sort of overarching solidity. Lucro sucio is a chill take on the sound of this band, and I overall enjoyed it. I would like to see them put a bit more grit back into their sound in the future, but as it stands, this is a perfectly good release.

Review originally published here: theeliteextremophile.com/2025/04/14/album-review-the-mars-volta-lucro-sucio-los-ojos-del-vacio/

As a big fan of The Mars Volta's old work, and having paid little attention to their newer stuff, I really didn't know what to expect going into this record. To get straight to the point, I thought it was pretty good. Nothing felt revolutionary like Frances the Mute, but that doesn't mean the album was bad. I really enjoyed a large portion of it. I also appreciate the album writing style of a bunch of shorter songs that flow together smoothly. It's not talked about a lot, but the way prog bands choose to divide up songs on their releases directly affects the listener's experience with that release. It tells a story when one half of a complete song is titled differently from the second half, and the only way to know they are two halves of a whole is to listen to them back-to-back. That being said, I didn't find a ton on the album to grab onto. It was really just a lot of nice moments that flowed well, and not much more. I think I have to give this a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.

Well this is unexpected. I had a feeling that they would make a new album, but I didn't expect them to just?drop something out of the blue. I expected at least a few singles, but honestly the only shred of advertisement that the band had done for Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacio was that tour they held with Deftones and Fleshwater, which I actually went to a show during said tour. That was when I got a taste of what the album would be like, and in turn, got quite hyped since the live version of these songs were really good!

Though, what about the actual studio output? Well with the band going pop in their last album, I figured they'd continue that streak, but instead Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacio changed things up dramatically, and honestly it took a bit to grow on me. In a way this is probably their most psychedelic venture yet since Noctourniquet, hell probably more.

If I had to describe the sound on this album, it'd probably be if Spiritualized made an album that was a lot more pop focused and had Latino elements.

It's very much a mix of ambient pop, art rock, and neo-psychedelia, rolled in a blanket that is not too dissimilar to some of Omar Rodriguez Lopez's solo works. It's honestly such a weird, but cool sound for the band to do. Cedric's voice is more of a focus here too, giving out very beautiful performances that are a stark contrast to the hard edged stuff he had made in the past. Not only that, but the fact the band is changing things up, even under a pop context, shows their progginess thoroughly even when they moved away from prog. Would I consider Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacio prog rock? No. Maybe prog pop at most, but this is definitely not under the same threshold as The Bedlam Of Goliath. But even still, this is such a different direction to go compared to what one would expect coming off of their last album.

However, I can definitely see why a lot of people are kind of coming into it very confused and lost, because?this album is just weird? It has the beats of a modern day Mars Volta album, but it never really presents itself as one? I don't know how to describe it, but at least initially it doesn't feel like a Mars Volta album. Sure you could say that about their self-titled too, but that one I'd say would still be recognizable as a Mars Volta album, even to the most casual of fans. This album, though, feels so out of left field even for a band such as this, that it ends up being kind of hard to get into, at least for me.

This album's biggest weakness is that while every song is good, even some really great ones like The Iron Rose or Morgana, the aforementioned confusion still persists, and I end up having more questions than answers. I have gotten more accustomed to it with each relisten, and now see it as another album by The Mars Volta, but even if I may have the pieces to the puzzle, organizing the picture is still quite hard.

I also think a weakness this album has is, while this may be more personal, I feel like the live versions I had heard in that Deftones concert sounded better, and thus I am just a tiny bit disappointed in the studio output. Now, no duh, of course songs sound better live, but like?if you listen to old live recordings from the band, it's clear that their studio and live sessions had a similar quality to both. Like, there are some differences, like the live material being far more jammier and wild, but at the end of the day the studio version of say, Tetragrammaton, sounds just as good as the live version of it. Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacio, though, sounds kind of empty on occasion in the studio compared to what I had heard live. It's not an awful emptiness, but it's very apparent these songs are more meant to be played live.

But, perhaps this direction ends up making this one of the most interesting Mars Volta albums ever. I mean, sure it may not be conceptually as interesting as Frances The Mute, but musically it's very?anti-Mars Volta. It's as if the very band itself went into an opposite world, and recorded an album with their mirrored counterparts. It's a bizarro Mars Volta, having beats and melodies that feel like something the band would make, but just off enough for it to be quite the head turner. And honestly, in this context, the album just becomes 10x cooler! It's so Mars Volta to make a Mars Volta album that doesn't vibe like a Mars Volta album.

Initially this album was a 3.5/5, but with each new listen I end up raising the bar a tad higher. Now, at a 4.5/5, I think I now know what to say. The Mars Volta NEVER misses. Sure, some of their releases are better than others, but if you ever ask me if they have any bad albums, I'd tell you no. They have unique, strange, and off putting material, but they do not make bad music EVER. Anyways, listen to Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacio, it's great.

Best tracks: The Iron Rose, Cue the Sun, Celaje, Morgana, Cue the Sun (Reprise)

Worst tracks: Mito de los trece cielos, Detrás de la puerta dorada