The Mars Volta - Noctourniquet [2012]

[RVCA]

1. The Whip Hand 4:49
2. Aegis 5:11
3. Dyslexicon 4:22
4. Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound 6:43
5. The Malkin Jewel 4:44
6. Lapochka 4:16
7. In Absentia 7:26
8. Imago 3:58
9. Molochwalker 3:33
10. Trinkets Pale of Moon 4:25
11. Vedamalady 3:54
12. Noctourniquet 5:39
13. Zed and Two Naughts 5:36

[Alfred]

Nervous about this one. Hopefully I'll get around to it this week.

[Euronomus]

Listening to it now so figured I'd do a track by track

1. The Whip Hand - They start the album with the most experimental track(it's TMV would you expect less ) very "niorish" vibe, Cedric is in top form here and the song goes through 3-4 total shifts in vibe and production before it ends.

2.Aegis - A More traditional TMV track, but makes it very clear that it's a new day in their world. Omar seems to be sitting back and letting the rest of the band make the song what it is.

3.Dyslexicon - this one starts with heavy electronics but the band slowly makes their presence known, all the while Cedric is tearing it up

4. Empty Vessels Make The Loudest Sound - Very Dynamic track, lots of ebbing and flowing with a nice buildup into a guitar solo at the end, definitely Omar's shining moment on the album(as far as his guitar work goes)

5.the Malkin Jewel - this is one extremely creepy track, starts very disjointed and dissonant but gives way to an almost heavy mellowness at the middle point. This one is definitely a grower.

6.Lapochka - Quite possibly the most ATDI sounding Mars Volta track ever(at least as far as the song itself, the arrangement-not so much) , pretty straight-forward song structure and no vocal acrobatics, lots of electronics and drum flourishes fill out the sound of the track.

7.In Absentia - Almost industrial in its rhythms and production, the overall sound of the track is distant but Cedric's vocals shine through towards the end, almost like the sun shining through the clouds after a tornado. mostly lacks the latin influences TMV are known for.

8. Imago - Another relatively straight forward semi-mellow track with the drums and electronics adding most of the decoration.

9. Molochwalker - The most traditional Mars Volta track on the album, but even here there are more electronics than in the past. Again it feels like Omar is trying to stand back and let the band do the heavy lifting.

10. Trinkets Pale of Moon - A semi-acoustic ballad with lots of samples and found sounds added in for mood. The track starts with the sounds of a middle-eastern market in the background and slowly adds in random noises until the guitar is buried under their weight for a few moments then they recede letting the song end in the same place it starts

11. Vedamalady - Something almost theatric about this track, lots of drama without being overbearing. It would make a great single, possibly the most accessible TMV track ever.

12. Noctourniquet - Its like they took a traditional Mars Volta song and tried to recreate it with samplers and sequencers, and the experiment really works. It's what you would expect if someone told you TMV was going to put out an electronic album.

13. Zed And Two Naughts - A nice way to close the album, experimental but not too much, a nice blend of their old&new styles.

Overall I'm very pleased with the album, their style was starting to stagnate so I feel it was a good time to expand their sound and I'd say they did it about as perfectly as they could. It's not a total rehaul of their sound but an expansion that really opens up what they can do.

[thedtrain]

Originally Posted by Alfred

Nervous about this one. Hopefully I'll get around to it this week.

same here....i was so disappointed at their last release. every album they come out with, i keep hoping it will be as good as de loused. i keep being let down =/

[Insane Guest]

Definitely not De-Loused, but my second favorite by them without a doubt. Although some songs are the most amazing thing to go into my ears (Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound in particular). Was originally questioning some of the vocals, they seem more high pitched maybe? Buy they grew on me, and so did this album. Very ****ing talented musicians, I bow and applaud them, and will not hesitate to drive 100 miles to see them when they tour.

[Alfred]

Anyone wanna hook me up with this? It's been damn near impossible to find leaked albums ever since Megaupload went down, for whatever reason.

[Alfred]

Thank you to the 3 of you who sent me links. You're wonderful people.

[RVCA]

Mine was the best. I copied it from my own library with love.

[RMR]

Originally Posted by thedtrain

same here....i was so disappointed at their last release. every album they come out with, i keep hoping it will be as good as de loused. i keep being let down =/

I'll wait for the official release date to chime in on this one, but to Train-- I loved the last release; it was certainly different than the others, but still great. My TMV album rankings:

Amputechture
Deloused
Octahedron
Frances
The Bedlam in Goliath-- wasn't a big fan of this one at all

Noctourniquet??

[debaserr]

This is sick.

PS: Scene release just came out today, if you got it before today(3/19) it's a POS 192kbps rip or a transcode of that.

PM me

EDIT: FLAC now out

EDIT: I think this is my favorite Mars Volta album. I've never been hugely into them, but I've been a fan. This album strips away the weirdness for weirdness sake stuff and focuses on the songwriting. My favorites are In Absentia and Noctourniquet, but most of the songs are good.