THE MARS VOLTA

The Bedlam In Goliath

The Mars Volta are contenders for the most “progressive” rock band this side of the millennium: its music is laden with chaotic instrumental passages, cryptic lyrics, mind-bending time signatures and arrangements and, of course, epic conceptual themes. “The Bedlam in Goliath,” the band’s fourth effort, deviates very little from this formula.

The music within is as bizarre as the subject matter, with guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s idiosyncratic guitar work providing a strangely effective launch pad for vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s Rush-esque wails about anything and everything abstract. From the moment the blistering opener “Aberinkula” assaults your speakers, they waste no time in making that point clear.

This is the closest they’ve come to creating an accessible rock album (but take it in context; by no means is this album accessible). Where previously the Mars Volta favored exploring loud-versus-soft dynamics and textures in songs, it cranks it up to 10 on Bedlam and doesn’t look back.

This makes for an easier listen, because some songs, notably “Ilyena” and “Tourniquet Man,” contain some memorable parts.

But to the unfamiliar ear, most of the music sounds like the recording of a nervous breakdown, with instruments dropping in and out seemingly at random and the drums working themselves into a frenzy on every song.

The biggest weakness here is that often times they seem to be trying too hard to be weird (see “Adagez” and “Conjugal Burns”). The angular guitars, horns and sound effects have a tendency to butt up against each other so uncomfortably that it’s almost impossible to discern anything from the noise.

Verdict: Bedlam has a wealth of intriguing musical pieces and sonic adventures to offer, but be warned – it’s not an album for the faint of heart.

- John Barrett

JACK JOHNSON

Sleep Through The Static

A couple of years ago, Jack Johnson showed us the complete crux of his cute side after curating the soundtrack to the animated adventures of Curious George. Now, the unlikely surf-soaked sensation makes a comfortable return to form on “Sleep Through The Static” – a more sullen and somber turn at the singer’s signature style. Johnson maintains his classic, comfortable formula which somehow satisfies without ever becoming extremely boring. While his musical arrangements become more rich with a notable integration of piano, little advances in the vein of pushing big boundaries.

Johnson demonstrates that the act of being political and passive is just a bit played out. The placid pro-peace statements that he attempts to construct on “Static” have already been established and encapsulated in a single song from his debut “Brushfire Fairytales.” Anyone who was bopping around to “Bubble Toes” back in the day had to take a second to step back and soak in the somber sounds of “The News” – a harrowing, intimate anthem that ambiguously asked “what’s wrong with the world today?” His stance was set back then, and find no more justice in this attempt.

“Sleep Through The Static” has Johnson sounding much more like his creative compadres Ben Harper and the wholly underrated Animal Liberation Orchestra thanks to many piano-driven tracks, accented by bells and xylophone tightening up intros to endear the listener. Johnson creeps and crawls away from his cute side and issues a collection of deeper cuts that won’t necessarily turn away his fervent to fair-weather fans, but they won’t exactly find themselves carelessly munching on “Banana Pancakes” either.

Verdict: The same slightly-sleepy surf bum you’ve always known, except a little more sad.

- Sami Promisloff