I'd just like to say that I think The Mars Volta is by far one of my favorite bands, and their latest LP is hitting stores March 1st for a mere $5.99 at your local Circuit City. That's dirt cheap for a CD these days and well worth it. I'm almost willing to bet that you definitely won't be disappointed.

I know it's been leaked all over the Internet, but this is one of those CDs that I want to wait until I can hear it properly with the best quality possible. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I was so addicted to their last LP, De-Loused in the Comatorium, that literally I had cravings to hear it all the time. It's one of those CDs that never got old for me, and that hasn't changed to this very day.

Oh, and if you ever get the opportunity to see them live, take advantage of it! Cedric and Omar are high up on my list as musicians.

I thought De-Loused was possibly the best album to come out a couple of years ago and Frances The Mute is horrible. Over-long songs that never seem to go anywhere.

the first album was at a great price when it came out as well! the reviews seem pretty positive, so i'll definitely be picking it up for that deal.

damn pitchfork trashed this album...
but then again they trash a lot of albums.

Oh, no. Don't tell me that. I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to decide for myself. Sometimes you have to think about it this way: They're probably just... very different. Wishful thinking, perhaps.

this album easily could have been around 40 minutes and made it much better. just pointless noise making drops this one down quite a few notches for me. deloused was a lot better.

I've only heard the single on the radio and wasn't particularly impressed. Any songs in particular worth listening to?

I've been listening to it since around the middle of December. It's brilliant, don't worry.

Well, at that price I guess I can't pass it up.

The single fits into the record really well when played as a whole. But, I loved the Widow before hearing the whole record...

But the record is amazing. Yes, the songs are very long. The final track clocks in at 33 minutes. But they are well worth it if you have the ability to just be absorbed in the music.

I think I still like De-loused more, but Fraces the Mute is well worth the wait and meets all the expectations that I had for their follow up. What a great band!

hmm. i always notice that if AMG says "excellent" and Pitchfork says "godawful" it's probably merely alright. amg gives it 4.5/5, and i seldom disagree with their objectivity in reviews.

If you're looking for "De-Loused part 2" you may be disappointed. Frances is a superb album. Its not as accessible as their last effort but its still a great album.

Cant waitfor this picking it up before work. From what i have heard (leaked) it isnt as good as De-Loused but it sure isnt bad or even mediocre.

PS - Does anyone know when we can expect a tour from them, and I pray to someones's god that they come to Vancouver.

The thing about this album is that it's not something you can just pop in and rock out too (okay that sounds corny, forgive me) like some of the De-Loused tracks. It's more in the vein of "Meddle" by Pink Floyd. It's meant to be heard as a whole body of work in it's entirety.

[QUOTE=david12]
But the record is amazing. Yes, the songs are very long. The final track clocks in at 33 minutes. [QUOTE]

Hold on, are you saying the last track, one song, is 33 mins. long?

Yes, the last track on the record Cassandra Gemini is 33 minutes long. The CD book will have it split up over 7 tracks (legal stuff) but it is one crazy song. For the first 15+ minutes it does not stop moving. Quite breathtaking.

I really liked De-Loused as well, but when I saw them live with A Perfect Circle I was very disappointed. The music just sounded horrible---it could easily have been been the venue, though APC sounded great.

In any case, I'm going to give Frances the Mute a good listen through tonight. Great deal, for $5.99!

On a side note, did everyone else get the pesky "FBI Anti-Piracy" print as well? So it goes.

I love it. It's totally TMV. Listening to their music is the equivalent to being on drugs (not that I'd know), or at least being high. Oh, and being high while listening to their music is, well, amazing. Not that you need to be! And no, I'm not some druggie. I'm impressed as I had anticipated.

I guess I'll be waiting to hear this one for awhile, every store around here is completely sold out.

Wow, I'm sorry to hear it, but that's great news for them. I'm glad they're getting the recognition they deserve.

Yeah, definitely. Plus, the store I work at had another 75 on order as well and I imagine most of those will go quickly as well.

Target carries it too.

ANyone else wish this band would get the DVD-A or SACD treatment?

I picked it up, after being impressed by at the drive in like 4 years ago and since then a huge fan of sparta...I like the mars volta a lot. BUT De-Loused was just great, and this one is going to take a bit to grow on me. The first 2 times through, it's reminded me so far of Led Zeppelin in the In through the out door era for some reason. I like it, but I'm wishing this was a 2 disc set with some straight out rock on one disc and the more experimental stuff on another.

I still say that Sparta is the better band of the post-ATDI days...their most recent album, Porcelin, is just simply bad-ass...

I really liked Sparta's first effort (Wiretap Scars) and rather disliked their second(Porcelain). It just seemed boring for some reason.