Album Review: Zechs Marquise - Getting Paid

You have to feel sorry for the siblings of famous musicians. No matter how hard they might try they will never fully escape the shadow and legacy of their noted surname. So what if you didn’t try and escape this fate and instead embraced it? That is exactly what the three brothers Marcel, Manfred, and Rikardo Rodriguez-Lopez have done for their band Zechs Marquise. If their name is familiar then perhaps you are familiar with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the prolific guitarist / song-writer best known for his work in At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta. These three (along with guitarists Marcos Smith and Matthew Wilkson) make surreal instrumental music that owes a debt to Omar while also having enough flavour of its own to avoid being mere mimicry. Getting Paid is the band’s second album and it is a stunning work of jam-minded psychedelics that also touches on classic prog rock, blaxploitation soundtracks, deconstructed experimentation, and even dubstep. This is truly a unique album that holds each of its disparate elements in place to create a thrilling if esoteric listening experience. The album cover, adorned with pimped-out animal people, is likely to puzzle but if anything that helps to prepare you for what is about to happen.

The first song does little to make things any easier on the listener. “Getting Paid” shifts tempos at the drop of a hat and fires through musical ideas so quickly you are left lost and bewildered. This is no mistake to be sure; they want to catch you off guard. Guitars loaded to the brim with wah pedal effects duel with stuttering synths and a marching krautrock beat over a restless six minutes - and that is just the first track. Second song “Lock Jaw Night Vision” is the closest thing you will find to a single. A dubstep influenced bassline embellished with hints of latin jazz frame a very Mars Volta sounding guitar solo. The apple has not fallen far from the crazy space alien tree when it comes to this family. All five members of the band are firing on all cylinders and that momentum carries through to the halfway point of the album. Singer Sunnie Baker adds her sweeter-than-sugar voice to “The Heat, The Drought, The Thirst, The Insanity”, putting a well-placed break in the instrumental madness of the album. The keyboards here are reminiscent of Can, King Crimson, or even Rush further showcasing this band’s prog rock credentials. 

By the time you reach the slightly atonal opening chords of “Everlasting Beacon Of Light” chances are you are loving the album to death and wish to see it to the end or have already run to the hills. Either way your mind is made up. Matthew Embree (RX Bandits) punches up this doomy throw down with another much-needed vocal performance. Getting Paid ends with the hyperactive ‘Mega Slap’, channelling the last of the band’s manic energy into a frenzied climax. If you have the extended edition you are also treated to three remixes (being Static Lovers, Mega Slap, and Guajira). These are fun additions to the album but are still far from essential. 

Anyone who is familiar with The Mars Volta will undoubtedly draw comparisons between the two bands. That being said, there are far worse things to be compared to in the world of music. Zechs Marquise are not a clone of that band but have certain similarities. Their eccentric prog rock sound, molten guitar solos, full-force freakouts; the individual elements are all there but Getting Paid is its own thing all together and the band twists the sound to suit their needs. Zechs Marquise are at the edge of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s shadow and are primed and ready to burst out into the sun.

Rating: A-

This review is published with kind permission from www.the-tune.net. Read the original review at http://www.the-tune.net/review-zechs-marquise-getting-paid/