Martians and Chicken

It's been a while since I double featured new music in this blog. Blame it on Isis' Wavering Radiant (see review here). The album was just so good I couldn't remove it from my playlist. Plus, I've been busy playing Warhammer Online. So, I guess, part of the blame goes to me as well. Now all of the CDs I got last month, both the good and bad, have piled up again. But I've managed to pull myself away from other activities to listen to all my neglected CDs, even for a bit, and made time to write this post.

Choosing two new music from my pile proved to be an ordeal, however. There were too many good options -like the new albums of Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear- and the conundrum was tearing my head apart. In the end, I decided to feature the new music of already familiar bands, The Mars Volta and Chickenfoot.

The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta is pretty much on the roll this year. They won a Grammy -Best Hard Rock Performance for their song "Wax Simulacra" - and just released their 5th studio album, Octahedron. This is probably their most restrained album as of yet. It's mellow, it's not chaotic. There's none of that over indulgent experimentations they had in their previous albums. It's the exact opposite of their 2006 album, Amputechture. It's more mainstream, however, more pop. So I can see why a lot of their old fans are now whining. But if you can't get into The Mars Volta's music before then now's your chance.

Chickenfoot

What happens if you throw ex-Van Halen's vocalist and bassist, Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer, and guitar legend Joe Satriani into one band? Do you get a rock supergroup that can rival Led Zepellin? That's what the vocalist, Sammy Hagar, thinks. But no. In fact, this is the worst supergroup ever formed. You just don't group technical musicians with happy-go-lucky members of a lamed out 80's band. They won't mesh well together. I haven't heard Satch and Chad Smith at their worst. Because both their styles are being suppressed by Hagar's singing in this album. In my opinion, they should rename their band from Chickenfoot to Chickenshoot. It's aptly named that way.

From the two new albums I posted above, I highly suggest getting The Mars Volta's Octahedron. Especially to those who haven't heard of the band's music or who couldn't get into them before. They've mellowed down and made their music small enough to fit local radios. Older fans, however, might not like it. As for Chickenfoot, they're fun to listen to. But I suggest you skip their album if you didn't grow up listening to 80's glam rock.

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