Pridgen plays tricky odd-metered rhythms, Laswell’s formidable bass sets the parameters for the melody and Sopko goes balls-out free to push over the ledge a performance already on the edge.

I still remember the day I originally found this album: My drive home was full of modern prog-rock goodness — stuff the likes of which we rarely get to hear anymore, especially from the remnants of yell-rock band At The Drive-in. Long songs (one of which clocks in at overRead More

I made it through the first song and a half before getting bored. Mars Volta’s last album was very strong, I thought, though it also abandoned the craziness that pretty much defined them in the past. That’s about all I can listen to now — maybe the first album andRead More

After Frances the Mute, I honestly wasn’t sure if I particularly cared where the Mars Volta was going next. I found the album completely misguided — or maybe unguided is a more fitting word — and a sonic mess, as if the band simply threw together every chord progression andRead More