The Mars Volta announce new album and share Vigil – a track lit up by Omar Rodríguez-López's dreamy guitar tones
The progressive rock icons make their reunion official with a self-titled new album that's due September 16
The Mars Volta have released their third track of 2022, Vigil. In addition, the prog rock band has announced the arrival of a new (self-titled) album, due September 16.
The group, consisting of central duo vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, previously released Blacklight Shine back in June, before following it up with the track Graveyard Love in early July.
All three tracks will appear on the new album. However, judging from the record’s track list below, we can now tell that the the first two songs were an opening pair designed to seamlessly flow into one another, while newbie Vigil stands slightly apart in both character and track list positioning.
Blacklight Shine was pace-y and funk-laced, while Vigil feels more mid-paced and melodic, perhaps edging slightly more into traditional prog realms, albeit with a skittering indie edge, in the vein of Dirty Projectors.
There’s also some fine tremolo tones, alongside some swelling and pitch-shifting guitars, courtesy of Rodríguez-López.
The Mars Volta self-titled album track list
- Blacklight Shine
- Graveyard Love
- Shore Story
- Blank Condolences
- Vigil
- Qué Dios Te Maldiga Mí Corazón
- Cerulea
- Flash Burns From Flashbacks
- Palm Full Of Crux
- No Case Gain
- Tourmaline
- Equus 3
- Collapsible Shoulders
- The Requisition
In addition, the band have previously announced a string of North American tour dates, beginning September 23 at The Factory in Deep Ellum in Dallas, Texas.
Head The Mars Volta’s site to pre-order the self-titled album and buy tickets for the live dates
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Matt is Features Editor for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.
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