The Mars Volta have always embraced the mysterious — from the oblique lyrics and impenetrable song titles (Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt, Miranda That Ghost Just Isn’t Holy Anymore) to the Storm Thorgerson cover art of their first few albums. (A gold head on a plate beaming light from its mouth, anyone? How about someone in a suit driving a classic car — with a red velvet bag covering their head?)
The Mars Volta have always relished the unexpected. Traditionally, their music spans prog, jazz, country rock, punk, Afrobeat, krautrock, even salsa — often within the same song. So one of the biggest twists of their surprise comeback last year was the focus, brevity, and electro elements of the new self-titled album.
The mysterious and the unexpected continue tonight at Troxy. For almost two uninterrupted hours, singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala, guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, and their four-piece band weave their way through moods, styles, tempos, intensities, and volumes with seemingly no effort at all. Rodríguez-López, looking nothing like a stereotypical rock star in glasses and fedora, seems especially relaxed considering the seemingly impossible things his head and hands must be doing to summon the sounds they do. And as he flits from spacey early ‘70s Pink Floyd psychedelics to Frank Zappa insanity, the band follow, unfazed. Drummer Linda-Philomène Tsoungui is especially impressive, capable of playing as ferociously or subtly as the fleeting moment requires, but always with flair. Leo Genovese is no slouch either, playing synths or keys (often simultaneously) and, as if from nowhere, saxophone.
This all happens in relative shadow. Despite the dramatic backdrop (two rows of five mirrors, individually surrounded by lighting strips) the spectacular effect is certainly more moody than flashy. It only adds to the mystery, although the overwhelming sensation tonight is one of excitement. That all begins with the opening act, Teri Gender Bender. Lead singer of Le Butcherettes, she’s the perfect support for The Mars Volta, and not just because of her work with Rodríguez-López in bands like of Bosnian Rainbows and Crystal Fairy. A hyperenergetic performer who rarely stands still, she handles her LED-decorated cape like a matador, balances on one leg while the other’s outstretched like a ballerina’s, and completely disappears into the crowd for minutes on end. All the while she and her three musicians perform songs that refuse to be categorised (electro-indie-dance-rock?), all held together by a long spoken-word piece that takes the place of regular audience banter.
Bixler-Zavala is just as intense a performer. Like the band around him, rounded out by Josh Moreau on bass and the seemingly multi-limbed Marcel Rodríguez-López on percussion and keys, The Mars Volta’s singer doesn’t hold back, whether he’s pushing his voice to extremes, leaning into the audience, or just batting his microphone from one hand to another. He doesn’t even leave the stage when the musicians are conjuring up long otherworldly instrumental passages — as if he too wants to see the magic trick being performed. That’s the thing about The Mars Volta: no matter how convoluted the music or intricate the time changes, their music never feels like a mathematical equation that needs to be solved. There’s a sense of spontaneity missing from, say, the likes of Tool. Plus their stuff really swings; during the jams, the singer doesn’t just watch and listen. He grooves.
Stripped of their sleek 2022 production, the two new tracks played tonight (Graveyard Love, Shore Story) fit surprisingly well into this scenario. But tonight’s undoubted highlights are the final three songs. Even after 90 minutes of almost nonstop music, mostly from the first album, the run of The Widow, Son et Lumiere, and Inertiatic ESP still sound dangerously unpredictable, vigorously energising, and as if they come from some other galaxy.
The Mars Volta
Troxy, London
18th June 2023
Photo: Paul Grace
- This article originally appeared on Louder Than War.
Nils van der Linden 