The Mars Volta – Bedlam In Goliath

After a duo of disappointing releases in Frances The Mute and Amputechture, The Mars Volta have finally brought an album to the table that isn’t watered down with electronic drones and other methods of musical auto-fellatio. The band have returned to a form similar to their stunning debut De-loused In The Comatorium. The album is another breath of fresh air into the stagnant state of music today. One of the most notable improvements over their past work is a newfound ferocity that is blatantly obvious throughout the album. Sure, there are still some annoying points, principally that the lyrics are so jumbled and cryptic that the album should really come with a decoder ring. The band sometimes resorts to what can only be described as “musical noodling” merely for the sake of noodlings sake, leaving the listener scratching their head for a number of seconds until the real music emerges again. But other than that, Bedlam in Goliath is a solid release from a band who had two other tries to get it right……and failed. Third times a charm!