NOCTOURNIQUET

Well here we are folks! The worst Mars Volta album...according to a few people. Yeah honestly I never really got why people consider this to be their worst if I am being real. In fact, calling it their worst just feels hyperbolic at best.

Now would I consider this as good as Frances the Mute or Deloused? Ehhh nah, not even close. This record does feel a bit less like a full on Mars Volta effort, and more like something akin to one of Omar's solo albums, but even with that, I still find Noctourniquet to be the band's most misunderstood pieces of music yet.

I think a big reason why this record never really stuck with people is that it was definitely way more mellow than their previous releases, even in relation to the less brutal Octahedron. The band certainly wanted to make the music less guitar based, focusing more on Cedric's vocals, Parks' drumming, and a more spacy production value. While I certainly do sympathize with those who may miss the bigger strings of guitar solos and frenetic insanity that Omar's guitar holds, I do think Noctourniquet manages to still be engaging even without it being the front.

It is still a Mars Volta album at the end of the day, so even if it might not be as wild as Amputechture, it still has that wild side that is still absolutely enjoyable. It's just a different wildness, which I don't think is bad. I am in no opinion that changing things up is bad for the band, hell that's a big reason why I am still so fond of their 2022 comeback record, and their subsequent 2025 effort of Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacío. Sure those albums do not quite have that same energy that you might get from songs like Dyslexicon, but the point still stands. I think this record was a good detour from what the band usually makes, even if it could've been their last.

I also quite like their slower songs, like Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound and Trinkets Pale of Moon, especially since, while they may be slower, they still carry on the same energy that the more intense songs bring. In fact, this album feels kind of like a more surreal version of Deloused in a way. Like the antithesis of their debut. Fitting how, for a time, this was the band's final record.

It's more avant-garde compared to Deloused's controlled mix of prog and hardcore. It's more electronic focused rather than guitar focused. It's a far looser concept record as opposed to the story driven narrative that the band started out with. Hell, it's album cover is the only one to be in mostly cool, dark colors. If Lucro sucio; los ojos del vacío is the anti-Mars Volta in their new era, then this was the anti-Mars Volta in their old era. And honestly I think that is super cool!

Heck, for a time, this was probably my second or third favorite Mars Volta album. Obviously that changed, but even before I became a super fan for this group I always knew that this record was something special. I guess that proves this band is nothing to scoff at when their "worst" can still be very, very good.

In a way this is like their This Strange Engine, a record that I cannot for the life of me understand why people don't like. It's not perfect, and it certainly is no Frances, but this record is not bad by any stretch of the means. I think it's due for a bit of a new fangled fan reception.

Best tracks: Dyslexicon, Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound, The Malkin Jewel, Trinkets Pale of Moon, Zed and Two Naughts

Worst track: N/A

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