Finding Your Roots

What better way to start off my blog than to describe my favorite album of all time . This album changed my whole perspective on music. The listening experience of this album is unlike anything that I’ve ever listen to in my life. I believe that it's essential for people to listen to this album. My favorite album of all time is none other than Frances The Mute by The Mars Volta.

The origin of the album is actually quite fascinating, but it came from unfortunate circumstances. Two years before the release of Frances The Mute, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the masterminds behind The Mars Volta received tragic news that their sound manipulator, Jeremy Ward have died of a drug overdose. Before the music business, Jeremy Ward worked as a repo man back in his hometown of El Paso, Texas. On one of his excursions, he found a journal in a car that he was repossessing that belonged to its previous owner. From reading the journal, Jeremy Ward discovered that like him, the owner of the journal did know who his parents were and and has a longing to discover where he comes from. As he continues to read the journal, Jeremy Ward soon began to write in the journal as though it was his own. A few days after his death, one of the band members found his journal and began to read through the pages. It was then that Cedric and Omar, in honor of their late friend and band member, decided to use his journal as the backdrop for their next album.

The album is loosely based on the conceptual idea of finding one's roots. The journey of discovering one’s self and where they came from. The protagonist of the story, Vismund Cygnus is on a search for his long lost mother, who in the album is known as Frances The Mute. Along the way, he encounters many different characters that each explains his mother’s history in their own perspective. Keep mind though, this is just my interpretation of the album and they album can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the listener.

Now, the album may be difficult listening to at first but given the chance the album is very extraordinary. The music on Frances The Mute is an chaotic atmosphere of distorted and psychedelic alternative rock mixed with punk rock and latin influences. This give the music a different kind of energy that can't be touched by many experimental bands. Now although the album may sound chaotic at first, if listened to closely, the album has it's loud moments and quiet moments. Listen to "Miranda That Ghost Isn't Holy Anymore" (the entire track) and you can see how quiet the song starts and ends on a loud note. This is a reflection of how dynamic the album really is where the tracks don't sound exactly the same thing. Speaking of the tracks of the album, the one thing that is apparent about the album is the arrangement of the songs. Instead of the traditional track by track playlist in many albums, the songs are arranged in parts as though they are different scenes in an opera. or a play. Some parts even exceed past the 7 minute mark and each part represents a different scene or character in the cryptic story of the album. Another worthy thing to mention is the arrangement of the instruments. Not only is the instrumentation and musicanship of each of the members of the band is absolutely superb but the structure is unlike any other. Guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, who also produced the album, allows each band member to first play their parts separately and then arranging the pieces to together to form the music. By doing this, he was able to utilize each of his band member talents and they are highlighted at key moments of the album. Lyrics, who are written by vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, are morbid and very cryptic, which may be difficult for the listener to decipher. Keep in mind though, this album is not for the faint of heart and only devoted listeners will unlock and discover the secret behind Frances The Mute. On the topic of Cedric and Omar, the ringmasters of the band, their talents are nothing short of extraordinary in their talents. Cedric’s vocal range is very strong throughout the album allowing him to be versatile each of the different moments of the album while Omar’s guitar playing is really out of this world and he is on the verge of being one of the best guitarist of all time. Some say his style of guitar playing similar to Robert Fripp of the legendary band, King Crimson.

Frances the Mute is an innovative, dynamic and completely original. It is an experimental masterpiece that any fan of alternative rock or psychedelic music should listen to. It is more than just an album, but a one of a kind listening experience. This album may not change your perspective on music, but give it a chance and I guarantee that it will give you a listening experience unlike any other. Just sit back, put on your headphones and let the music consume you.