Story time: Last year Omar
Rodriguez-Lopez announced that he was playing a solo show in my
country. Being that I live in isolated little New Zealand and it was
his first one ever here outside of The Volta I leaped at the
opportunity. Since this is when Mars Volta were still a functioning
unit and that I was familiar with some of his solo records I knew
better than to expect any single thing from the show. To this day I'm
not quite sure of what I experienced - although I'm pretty sure it
involved an oddly alluring Mexican woman howling and sniffing her
armpits. When it was revealed that this new unit, Bosnian Rainbows,
were to release and album I was still entirely unsure what that would
entail. The below review is my attempt to get my head around this odd
release.
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (At The Drive In,
Mars Volta) is a voraciously prolific musician. Since 1996 he has
released no less than three dozen records under various guises. When
news broke earlier this year that Mars Volta, his brainchild for the
past decade, was in a state of permanent hiatus it only stands to
reason that it would not take him long to build a new musical outlet.
That new outlet goes by the name Bosnian Rainbows and it features an
interesting arrangement of Rodriguez-Lopez's former collaborators and
a foray into a new sonic identity.
For Bosnian Rainbows, Omar is joined by
ex-Mars Volta drummer Deantoni Parks, Le Butcherettes' singer Teri
Gender Bender, and Nicci Casper on bass and synthesizers.
Stylistically, Bosnian Rainbows brings in some more orthodox elements
to Omar's palette than we are used to. He appears to be drawn to
these damaged siren types (see Juliette Lewis' excellent Terra
Incognita as a precedent)
but he draws such great performances out of them you can hardly blame
the man. If anything Omar is taking a more backseat approach to this
band which explains the change in tone. He has been known to be a bit
of a tyrant in this regard so it will probably do him and all of
Bosnian Rainbows a favour in the long run by being less “hands on”.
Without meaning to belabour
the point, Bosnian Rainbows is the most pop-centric release of
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's career to date. 'Worthless' could stand on its
own two legs in a world where Florence and the Machine has been
carving up the charts for years. These easily digestible tidbits are
offset by the rattling terror of pieces like 'I Cry For You' with TGB
in full banshee mode. They are not afraid to pile on the creepy, they
have just carefully chosen their moments to do so. 'Turtleneck' plays
out like a psychedelic duet between kindred spirits; sweet, supple,
and adrift in kaleidoscopic chords. The gentle veneer doesn't last
too long before the menacing middle section tears its way forwards
and Omar gets to exercise his prodigious guitar chops.
Some of these songs are big hitting
numbers which unfortunately leaves some of their meeker peers in the
dust. 'Morning Sickness' leaves practically no impression and if it
weren't for the bizarro world Blondie vibe of 'Torn Maps' it would
share a similar fate. Another thing that might strike you as unusual
is how short the album is. Lengthy prog rock overtures have been
eschewed in favour of brevity – the eleven tracks herein clock in
at under fifty minutes and one two songs break the six minute mark.
By the time 'Mother, Father, Set Us Free' has shimmered out of
earshot you might be left wanting by the silence that follows. That
feeling of separation is an important motif for the album; even the
best if things comes to an end eventually so we have to enjoy the
here and now. For Omar Rodriguez-Lopez the here and now is Bosnian
Rainbows.
Rating: A-
Recommended tracks: I Cry For You,
Worthless, Turtleneck
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