Foals wrapped up their 2022 ‘Life Is Yours’ Tour this past weekend with a handful of shows in the Northeast. The band passed through NYC’s Terminal 5 on Friday, December 16th for a raucous, capacity show, celebrating their return to the city after nearly four years. Foals have consistently been on of the best live rock bands over the last decade, and successfully harness that live energy into their studio records. No exception to rule was their seventh LP, Life Is Yours, released this past June.
Foals thrive on the live stage, and draw out a crowd eager to dance and sing along as they cruise through a tight 90 minute, career-spanning set. Even though the band leaned heavily into Life Is Yours, the older tracks fit in seamlessly because they have always stayed true to their blend of indie and alternate rock. Intricate layers of guitar arpeggios and vocal melodies soar over the crowd all backed by groovy rhythms perfect for a dance floor. The show opened with Life Is Yours single “Wake Me Up,” which saw it’s debut just over a year ago in 2021. The main set ended with an epic performance of “Mountain at My Gates” off 2015s What Went Down, followed by an encore of “Inhaler” and one of the band’s oldest and most beloved songs, “Two Steps, Twice”.
The current tour concluded this weekend with a final show in Portland, Maine. Foals takes a few months off before making a few stops in the UK ahead of a big run of shows opening Paramore’s upcoming tour. Head over to the band’s website for a full list of shows, and check out the photo gallery from the show this weekend at Terminal 5 below.
Pop punk is alive and well these days. The fanbase now spans multiple generations who are selling out festivals and reunion tours all while spawning a thriving scene of up and coming bands with a new found energy and creativity. This was all on display on Sunday, November 13th at Brooklyn Steel for State Champs third show of the ‘Kings Of The New Age’ tour. The Albany-based pop punks led a deep quadruple bill also featuring California natives Hunny along with relative newcomers Young Culture and Between You & Me on support.
Fresh off their appearance at When We Were Young Festival (the Las Vegas pop punk festival featuring almost every band you ever heard of) State Champs were in fine form as they celebrated Kings Of The New Age, their fourth LP released back in May. Frontman Derek DiScanio and bassist Ryan Graham bounced from one side of the stage to the other, greeting a relentless stream of crowd surfers rushing the stage. The band breezed through a career-spanning, 18-song setlist with many of the new songs already becoming crowd favorite sing alongs.
Brooklyn Steel was only the third stop on the tour, with North American dates running until mid December. State Champs close out the stretch with a hometown show at Albany’s Empire Live on December 10th. Tickets for that show are still on sale. Check out the full photo gallery from Brooklyn below and from their last performance at Empire Live in 2021 here. Also make sure to listen to the band’s recently released acoustic singles “Act Like That” and “Outta My Head”.
Gorillaz brought their star-studded lineup to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Wednesday, October 12th, as part of the final leg of their 2022 world tour. While Gorillaz is primarily the project of frontman Damon Albarn (Blur, The Good, the Bad & the Queen), a Gorillaz live show is always a parade of collaborators and special guests, and the show at Barclays was no exception.
The set featured appearances from Thundercat, Fatoumata Diawara, EarthGang, and longtime Gorillaz collaborators De La Soul and Del the Funky Homosapien. Find the full setlist and photo gallery from Wednesday night below.
Back in June, Gorillaz released the stand-alone single “Cracker Island”. Featuring Thundercat, the song is a classic mix of the nu-disco/rap blend that Gorillaz have been long known for. Thundercat provides the bass line and backing vocals while Bootie Brown delivers the rap verses, both of whom were on hand on Wednesday night to perform it live. The song would ultimately become the title of track of their recently announced eight LP Cracker Island, due out in February 2023.
“Cracker Island” by Gorillaz. Via YouTube
With the announcement of the new album in August, Gorillaz also unveiled a second single, “New Gold” featuring Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Bootie Brown. While Kevin was did not make a surprise appearance as he did in Los Angeles, Bootie Brown performed his part with Kevin’s image embedded into the psychedelic visuals of the live show. The setlist also featured “19-2000” from their 2001 self-titled debut with a surprise appearance from Miho Hatori, who had not performed with the band for more than a decade. Miho was the original voice of the character Noodle in the virtual Gorillaz band that was the foundation of the groups mystique early in their career.
Damon Albarn and Miho Hatori of Gorillaz, Barclays Center 10/12/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
During the encore, Damon welcomed the long time Gorillaz collaborators De La Soul and Del the Funky Homosapien to join them for some of the band’s most iconic songs. De La Soul provided the epic laughing intro and bassy rap verses to “Feel Good Inc.” before Del burst into raucous performances of “Rock The House” and the classic “Clint Eastwood” which sent fans into a frenzy to close out the 2-plus hour, 27 song show.
Del the Funky Homosapien, with Gorillaz. Barclays Center 10/12/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Gorillaz have a handful of dates left on their 2022 tour, before a period of down time ahead of the new album release in February. Head over to their website for the full list of dates, and check out the photo gallery below from Barclays Center.
Gorillaz, Barclays Center, Brooklyn – October 12, 2022
Moderat are in the midst of their first tour since 2017 and the German electronic outfit made their way to Brooklyn’s Avant Gardner on Friday, October 7th. Back in May, the group ended their 6 year hiatus with the announcement of their fourth LP More D4ata, via Monkeytown Records. Moderat’s triumphant return to New York City attracted fans from all over the world, packing into the cavernous warehouse and creating a noticeable buzz of excitement.
Moderat is the collaborative project between Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary (a.k.a. Modeselektor) and Sascha Ring (a.k.a. Apparat). All three provide various electronic, textures, and vocals, with Sascha Ring providing lead vocals, guitar, and bass. Moderat’s music has also been a a blend of melodic electronica with funky bass rhythms and ethereal vocal play, and More D4ata (an anagram for Moderat 4) leans heavily into their signature style while dabbling in a more abstract backing. Lead single and album opener “FAST LAND” features a swirling synth loop with a heartbeat pulse in the background that slowly builds in suspense, reminiscent of Mezzanine-era Massive Attack. This leads into “EASY PREY” which is a sporadic electronic array you might hear on a number of Thom Yorke solo projects.
At Avant Gardner on Friday night, Moderat played songs from all four of their LPs, including a Jon Hopkins cover. After coming on stage for the encore, the band thanked the crowd for their support over the years, especially after such a long hiatus. Before bursting into a passionate rendition of their most popular song “Bad Kingdom”, Sascha Ring admitted that he has so much fun performing that song no matter how many times they play it. The packed warehouse of Avant Gardner sung in harmony with Moderat, and the band was visibly invigorated by the response.
Moderat continue on tour in Europe with a lengthy run of dates through November. Head over to their website for all of the tour dates, including what will be two very special hometown shows in Stuttgart and Hamburg, Germany. Check out the full photo gallery from the show at Avant Gardner from Joseph Buscarello below.
Celebrating the release of their seventh studio album, The Mars Volta wrapped up two sold out shows at New York City’s Terminal 5 on Friday, September 30th. Their self-titled LP, The Mars Volta, was released by Clouds Hill Records on September 16th, marking a dramatic shift in the band’s sound who traded their frenzied, long-form prog rock styling for a more stripped back and deliberate art-rock. The result of a true collaborative effort, The Mars Volta focuses on Latin jazz fusion while giving Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s vocals plenty of space to ring out as clear as ever.
The Mars Volta, Terminal 5, 9/30/22. Photo by Lindsay Brown
The Mars Volta last played New York City over a decade ago, before their sixth LP Noctourniquet was even recorded. The announcement of the new record and tour was hailed by a fanbase that has not seen the band in 10 years, as well as new found fans who truly thought they would never get the experience of seeing The Mars Volta live. The crowd at Terminal 5 was a mix of both and the excitement was palpable long before doors even opened.
The Mars Volta, Terminal 5, 9/30/22. Photo by Lindsay Brown
Support on this tour comes from Teri Gender Bender; the latest moniker from the supremely talented and genre defying musician Teresa Suárez Cosío. Cosío has fronted many projects over the years, including the garage punk band Le Butcherettes and the psych rock group Bosnian Rainbows, also featuring Omar Rodríguez-López. Teri Gender Bender released a slew of EPs and singles on Clouds Hill Records back in August and the band’s sound and Cosío’s dynamic stage presence were a perfect fit to open the show. Featuring a cryptic and driving psychedelic performance, the music floated somewhere between Björk and classic NYC punk, leaving a clear impression on the Terminal 5 crowd.
Teri Gender Bender, Terminal 5, 9/30/22. Photo by Lindsay Brown
The band’s setlist has been quite consistent throughout the tour so far, including the two lead singles from The Mars Volta, “Blacklight Shine” and “Graveyard Love”. Both songs take on a whole different life on stage, primarily due to the incredible drumming from new band member Linda-Philomène Tsoungui. While the setlist used to feature Amputechture highlight “Viscera Eyes”, it has been dropped from the setlist the past couple of tour dates including New York City. The Mars Volta have been paying homage to their roots on this tour with 7 out of 10 songs from their 2003 classic debut, Deloused In The Comatorium. Find the full setlist below.
The Mars Volta, Terminal 5, 9/30/22. Photo by Lindsay Brown
The Mars Volta has always been the creative output of guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric, with a revolving band that tours behind them. This current iteration of the live show still feels like a collaboration amongst all the artists on stage even if they were not present during the recording of The Mars Volta. Linda-Philomène Tsoungui brings an enormous amount of energy and jazz complexity to the rhythms, while long-time collaborator Marcel Rodríguez-López (a.k.a. Eureka The Butcher) provides keys and Latin percussion. Leo Genovese is the other new multi-instrumentalist, performing lengthy and riveting piano and tenor saxophone solos.
The tour continues throughout October with several stops in the Midwest and the west coast, ending with a three-night run at Los Angeles’ The Hollywood Palladium. Shortly after the tour, The Mars Volta headlines Mexico City’s Hipnosis festival on November 5.
The Mars Volta, Terminal 5, 9/30/22. Photo by Lindsay Brown
This new era feels like a rebirth of the band, with just as much passion and creative energy as ever. While there are no plans after the show in Mexico, the passion on display from Omar, Cedric, and the touring band feels like they will not stop there. Check out more photos from night two at Terminal 5 by Lindsay Brown below.
The Mars Volta – Terminal 5 – September 30, 2022
Setlist: Vicarious Atonement, Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of), Eriatarka, Graveyard Love, L’Via L’Viaquez, Empty Vessels Make The Loudest Sounds, Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus, Blacklight Shine, Drunkship of Lanterns, The Widow, Cicatriz ESP, Televators, Son et Lumiere, Inertiatic ESP
French DJ and music producer Madeon released his second LP Good Faith back in 2019 but has been touring strong behind the record ever since. Madeon puts on a few different types of shows ranging from DJ sets, to the standard club concerts but he will also perform select shows dubbed Good Faith Forever. These shows boast a unique production, with the most recent one happening at the revamped Brooklyn Mirage last Sunday, September 11.
Madeon’s choice of venue is one of the key factors for the unique Good Faith Forever shows. The venue must have large-scale production capabilities to allow Madeon to take on a larger-than-life presence and completely engulf the audience into the show. For New York City, there is no better choice than Brooklyn Mirage. The venue has a massive LED screen that is curved and wraps around the front end of the crowd, making you feel immersed in the visuals no matter where you are in the venue. The venue has all the bells and whistles already built in, giving Madeon the joy of incorporating lasers into Good Faith Forever for the first time.
A key element to the show takes place in the last leg, when an elevated platform takes Madeon about 20 feet above the stage right as he performs the unreleased song “Gonna Be Good.” At this height, Madeon is towering over the crowd with an intense visual show taking place on the LED, carefully aligned and framing the musician. The venue again provided amplification; not only were fans dwarfed by the show at this point, but the sheer size of the screen and the visuals on it made the entire production feel truly out of this world.
The setlist featured Madeon’s latest one-off release “Love You Back” which came out earlier this year, and the show closed with fan-favorite “Shelter” (a collaboration with Porter Robinson). Good Faith was released back in 2019, but given the delays performing live due to the pandemic, the support for the LP did not begin until 2021. Combine that with the variety by which Madeon performs and you have a tour cycle that goes on without ever getting stale. Good Faith Forever makes a few more festival stops including III Points in Miami before heading to Mexico and then Jakarta, Indonesia. There are also a handful of DJ sets mixed in between. Head over to Madeon’s website for the full tour dates.
On Friday, September 16th, The Mars Volta end their decade-long hiatus and release their self-titled seventh LP. The Mars Volta is the group’s first record under Clouds Hill Records, following the label’s reissue of the band’s back catalog in 2021; a vinyl box set dubbed “La Realidad De Los Sueños” (or “The Reality of Dreams”). This reissue was truly a dream come true to the many fans that have become familiar with The Mars Volta long after their records were available on the shelves.
Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta. Shot by Fat Bob on Leica M10.
The set included all 6 previous LPs on 180g black vinyl, along with their 2002 debut EP Tremulant and the original demos from the Deloused In The Comatorium recording sessions called Landscape Tantrums. The demos were an intriguing part of the set, giving fans a look at the raw sound of the band before Rick Rubin put his finishing touches on. Limited to 5,000 copies the box set sold out nearly as fast as it was announced.
Shortly after the release of their sixth LP Noctourniquet in 2012, the El Paso prog rock titans announced that the band was no more. Evolving from a rift in the friendship of band leads Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the feud spilled online and caused the band to announce their break up. The Mars Volta had just completed a European tour behind the new album and Rodríguez-López wanted to move on to new projects while Bixler-Zavala wanted to do a full tour of North America. The feud was short lived however, with Omar and Cedric reconciling after the birth of Bixler-Zavala’s children. The two became creative again, forming the new band Antemasque for a short lived self-titled release and even resurrected At The Drive In for that project’s fourth LP, in*ter*a*lia. All of this activity left fans longing for The Mars Volta, but hope that the band would one day reconvene was as strong as ever.
According to an updated bio, Rodríguez-López began composing fragments of songs that would become The Mars Volta around the time in*ter*a*lia was coming together. The reunion of At The Drive In was cathartic for Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s relationship, albeit short lived. The group left it on good terms after a sizable tour behind the album, but the music of that project left Rodríguez-López feeling trapped in a style that was hard to be creative with. He knew that the time had come to resurrect The Mars Volta for the next chapter and Bixler-Zavala was on board.
The Mars Volta Cover Art.
Rodríguez-López wanted to make a “heavy pop” record. What could that possibly mean from a band that has alway made spastic and dense psychedelic prog rock with songs stretching well past the 10-minute mark? Ideas of a pop record floated around as early as 2008, but at that time, the band felt the urge to stay true to the frenetic prog rock sound they had pioneered up to that point and could not comprehend what pop sounded like for The Mars Volta.
After going through such a long hiatus from The Mars Volta and attempting to discover new things with old bands and new, Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala knew it was time to evolve The Mars Volta into a brand new era. This meant isolating the musical elements that made The Mars Volta so unique, giving them more space in the mix to breathe, and shortening the songs into cohesive “pop” structures. This also meant giving Bixler-Zavala the freedom to write melodies based off his natural reaction to the instrumentals and treating them to a unique recording process. Rodríguez-López constructed a portable recording studio where Bixler-Zavala’s head was zipped inside of a box to create a level of intimacy to the vocal tracks. The vocals are as sharp and crisp as ever and without the dense layers of noise roaring behind them, we hear Bixler-Zavala in the most detail we ever have.
Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta. Shot by Fat Bob on Leica M10.
The “heaviness” also refers to the lyrical content itself. The songs focus on various tragedies and personal loss suffered by Bixler-Zavala. On previous records, Bixler-Zavala would write in deep riddles and invent his own lexicon for certain tracks. On The Mars Volta, the foreign riddles are traded for straight forward, yet poetic and haunting passages that are easier to decipher. “The most revolutionary thing for us to do was just be very simple and straight forward” Bixler-Zavala says about the lyrics. “Palm Full of Crux” was written as an ode to Jeremy Ward, who died shortly after recording Deloused In The Comatorium. “Flash Burns From Flashbacks” and “Collapsable Shoulders” are littered with courtroom and justice metaphors, referring to the impact Danny Masterson’s conduct has had on Bixler-Zavala’s family. It’s the “centrifugal ways” (sung on “Vigil”) always acting in opposition to our intentions that tear us apart – the one constant theme on The Mars Volta.
I think I’m coming undone, he bought the gavel to run all the crooked little cities.
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta sees the band successfully exploring many different musical genres, and stringing them together in surprising and exciting ways. Bixler-Zavala cites David Bowie specifically as inspiration,“noting that [Bowie] had mastered both challenging, experimental music and the pop format, often on the same song.” The dense overlapping of musical layers of the band’s past works is absent here, in favor of concise song writing focusing on groove and melody while allowing Bixler-Zavala’s vocals to seamlessly glaze over and come through cleanly. A prime example is on the second single, “Graveyard Love” where a sputtering drum beat plays behind a distinct bass line and swirling synths as Bixler-Zavala sings a delicate and haunting melody. Similarly, on “Tourmaline” Bixler-Zavala duets with a sparse acoustic arpeggio before a haunting array of psychedelic guitar and synths drop in, reminiscent of Radiohead’s darkest, jazzy moments.
A dominant presence on the album are funk-rock and Caribbean infused latin-jazz elements. “Qué Dios Te Maldiga Mí Corazón” might be the shortest song in the band’s catalog, but it‘s furious with a driving bongo rhythm and Bixler-Zavala’s Spanish vocal melodies (thinking “L’Via L’Viaquez” here). “The Requisition” and “No Case Gain” fuse funky rhythms, anthemic rock & roll vocals, and groovy guitar riffs that scream early Red Hot Chili Peppers (and even At The Drive In on “No Case Gain”). “Flash Burns From Flashbacks” is another psychedelic mix of guitar and synth arpeggios backed by a punchy and complex drum beat. Much of the drumming from new member Willy Rodriguez Quiñones seems influenced by a combination of Mahavishnu Orchestra and latin-jazz great Steve Berrios.
The album is “heavy” in many ways, but gets the most experimental on the slower ballads. “Palm Full of Crux” is a classic 70s folk/prog sound, floating somewhere between Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin III. “Collapsable Shoulders” again features Bixler-Zavala’s croon, but over a genre-defying slow-paced trap beat while he sings “a truancy of wasps begin trying to make us their home as we pull their wings off one by one.”
All of these varying musical genres and song structures are woven together in a meticulous way that never allows there to be any dead space on the album. When a band like The Mars Volta tune it back the way they do on The Mars Volta, the album can easily become disjointed and drag on in sections. Here, the album goes back and forth consistently between slower ballads and upbeat bangers, constantly peaking the listener’s attention as if on a roller coaster. Album closer “The Requisition” bottles this up in and of itself, kicking off with an uplifting and light keyboard driven ballad before dropping off into an evil Red Hot Chili Peppers style groove.
The menagerie of prog displayed on this album is only pulled off with the incredible production and engineering provided by Johann Scheerer of Clouds Hill Records, in collaboration with Rodríguez-López. While intentional in style, previous Mars Volta records were so dense that many of the layers blended into indiscernible psychedelic arrays. Here, every individual track is given so much space to ring out which somehow amplifies their presence. Every bass note, drum hit, and guitar pluck shine through in extreme detail, and the vocals have a level of depth that we have not heard from Bixler-Zavala before.
The three singles that were chosen to preview the album eclipsed the new direction perfectly. “Blacklight Shine” and “Graveyard Love” came off as different yet familiar, but then “Vigil” solidified the evolution, and shocked fans. The song kicks off with a R&B vocal ballad that swells into a shimmering, 70s era folk rock song with an anthemic chorus one might hear on Rumours or a number of other folk albums from that time period. Towards the end, the song dissolves into a sputtering and complex drum pattern while Bixler-Zavala’s vocal loops dissolve into the background. It is truly a remarkable change of pace for the band, and admittedly, shocking on first listen. The more you listen, the more the subtle elements fill in the perceived empty space, and you really appreciate the complexity they are able to achieve in the subtle instrumentals, while still discussing hauntingly tragic themes Volta fans are accustomed to.
“Vigil” by The Mars Volta. Via YouTube
First listen of The Mars Volta is admittedly a jarring, but an incredibly rewarding experience. The suspense that is created on the slower and more deliberate songs culminates into funky grooves, psychedelic arrays, and Latin jazz fusion around every corner. I could not help but to think back to the last time I saw the band live – Roseland Ballroom, 10/8/2009 – almost 13 years to the day the album will be released. I still have the poster from that night hanging in my apartment and will argue it is the best show I have ever seen. But hearing The Mars Volta in 2022, those shows are going to evolve into something even more special and beyond comprehension. The band loves to jam and mix songs live, and we are all on the edge of our seats waiting for our chance to experience it.
The Mars Volta is out on Clouds Hill Records this Friday, September 16th. You can still pre-order the standard and gold foil “Kinetic Editions” on vinyl from the band’s store, and copies of the limited box set La Realidad De Los Sueños have appeared online as well. The tour kicks off in Dallas, TX at The Factory In Deep Ellum on 9/22 and the New York shows happen on 9/29 and 9/30 at Terminal 5 in NYC. Tickets are still available for both nights on AXS.
If the catatonic walls close in on the hem again, pull the tether down for me. I’ve been hemorrhaging the sins of these lesser men.
The Mars Volta
Key Tracks – Tourmaline, EQUUS 3, Flash Burns From Flashbacks
Arctic Monkeys seventh studio album, The Car, arrives on October 21st and today the band shared the lead single “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball.” Check out the video for the song below; directed and (mostly) shot by frontman Alex Turner, the video features clips of the band writing and recording the song shot in a retro-film style.
“There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” by Arctic Monkeys. Via YouTube
Arctic Monkeys rockers took a turn away from their driving rock style with their last record, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino in 2018. Lead single and album opener “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” follows in that direction with vocalist Alex Turner crooning over a shimmering, retro jazz instrumental. The Car features 10 tracks and is out October 21st on Domino Records. Stay tuned for new about a potential Arctic Monkeys North America tour.
Arctic Monkeys Upcoming Tour Dates
August
25 Rock En Seine, Paris, France 27 Reading Festival, UK 28 Leeds Festival, UK
September
1 Cala Mijas Festival, Malaga, Spain 2 Kalorama, Lisbon, Portugal 4 Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Ireland 16 Life Is Beautiful Festival, Las Vegas, Nevada, US 18 Primavera Sound, Los Angeles, California, US
November
4 Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 5 Primavera Sound, São Paulo, Brazil 8 Pedreira Paulo Leminsk, Curitiba, Brazil 10 Kilk Fest, Asunción, Paraguay 12 Primavera Sound, Santiago de Chile, Chile 13 Primavera Sound, Buenos Aires, Argentina 15 Arena 1, Lima, Peru 17 Coliseo Live, Bogota, Colombia 19 Corona Capital Festival, Mexico City, Mexico
December 29 Lost Paradise, Sydney, Australia 31 Falls Festival VIC, Murron (Victoria), Australia
January 2 Falls Festival NSW, Yelgun, Australia 4 Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, Australia 5 Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, Australia 6 Heaps Good Festival, Adelaide, Australia 8 Falls Festival WA, Perth, Australia 11 Riverstage, Brisbane, Australia 14 The Domain, Sydney, Australia
Indie rock veterans Fleet Foxes wrapped up the North American leg of the Shore Tour on Saturday, August 13th, at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens. Shore was released almost two years ago in September, 2020 and the band was finally able to kick off the lengthy tour earlier this summer with a hometown show at Seattle’s Moore Theater. Support for the show came from Nigerian-born and North Carolina-raised Uwade, who also joined Fleet Foxes for several songs and covers. Check out the full photo gallery below.
Fleet Foxes at Forest Hills Stadium, 8/13/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Fleet Foxes played a lengthy, 27-song setlist in Queens, including several covers and some songs performed solo by frontman Robin Pecknold. During the main set, the band covered “Phoenix” by Big Red Machine and “The Kiss” by Judee Sill. During the encore, Uwade rejoined the band for a rendition of The Strokes’ “Under Control”. For the encore, the band dressed the part and sported all white, custom tennis whites; a classic look for the long-standing tennis club of Forest Hills.
The show in Queens was the last in the US for Fleet Foxes. The band heads to Europe at the end of August for a short leg of dates in the UK and across Europe. Head over to the band’s website for the full tour schedule.
After teasing their first new album in over a decade with two new songs, The Mars Volta have made it official: The Mars Volta will be released on September 16th via Clouds Hill Records. Pre-orders for the album, along with standard and “Kinetic Edition” vinyls packages are live on the band’s website.
‘The Mars Volta’ Cover Art
Back in June, The Mars Volta teased their return from a 10 year hiatus with an audio-visual installation dubbed L’YTOME HODORXÍ TELESTERION. The exhibit was an immersive cube you could enter and hear the lead single (and album opener) “Blacklight Shine”. The following month in July, the band shared a second new song “Graveyard Love” and both songs were accompanied by videos depicting various aspects of music and culture on the island of Puerto Rico. Last Friday, The Mars Volta shared the latest single and music video for “Vigil” – check it out below.
“Vigil” by The Mars Volta. Via YouTube.
These new songs are a noticeable departure from the band’s signature frenetic prog-rock sound. Fans online are praising the new style as the band successfully adopting an accessible pop sound, but it goes much further than that. All of these songs contain various elements of The Mars Volta’s entire catalog, just packaged in a much more cohesive (and concise) way. “Blacklight Shine” is driven by bongo-dominant Caribbean percussions and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s lustful Spanish vocals. “Graveyard Love” starts off with ominous pulsing synths and punchy bass notes, building up to a climax where Cedric’s vocals are battling a swirling synth and scattered drum hits.
Cedric Bixler-Zavala (left) and Omar Rodríguez-López (right). Shot by Fat Bob on Leica M11.
At first, “Vigil” is a jarring juxtaposition to any song The Mars Volta has ever written, but put together with the previous singles, the song is a visceral and cohesive part of the new approach the band is taking. The song kicks off with a sporadic but steady drum beat and Cedric singing a dark ballad about the weight and deceit of lost love before the song structure breaks down into swirling vocal and drum loops. Cedric also notes about the song “And the obits wait for a perfect name.”
Diving into the vocals of the band’s catalog is a tough exercise in deciphering broken “Pynchon-esque” passages. On The Mars Volta the band has endeavored to streamline all aspects of the music including the theme. While the vocals are still mysteriously dark, they tell the most cohesive stories the band has ever told all while circling back to the central theme of Puerto Rican culture and the endless colonial rule implemented by the United States over the island.
The Mars Volta 2022 Tour Dates
According to a press release, “The new album shakes loose some of band’s long-standing shibboleths, with only two tracks lasting longer than four minutes, and the dizzying, abrasive prog stylings of earlier albums absent. The Mars Volta pulses with subtle brilliance, Caribbean rhythms underpinning sophisticated, turbulent song craft.” The album rounds out at 14 tracks, and if the first three are the foundation for this new evolution, the record is going to be a shining example of what a band can be, 10 years after many thought there would be no more.
The US tour kicks off one week after the album is released, on September 22nd in Dallas, Texas. The tour stops at NYC’s Terminal 5 for two shows on September 29th and 30th (both are sold out). Head over to the band’s website to see the full tour details, and to pre-order the new album.
