Frances The Mute
by The Mars Volta
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 348 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 299 out of 348
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 348
  3. Negative: 37 out of 348

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  1. piesore
    Feb 27, 2005
    5
    I was disappointed w/ Deloused, mostly in terms of the production. I thought they'd fleshed out their ideas and taken the next logical step from ATDi, and really loved the Alex Newport produced demos. But Rubin's final made me feel like I was listening to a piece of plastic, with the guitar and coals pushed too high in the mix. Cedric's voice was more feminine, yet more I was disappointed w/ Deloused, mostly in terms of the production. I thought they'd fleshed out their ideas and taken the next logical step from ATDi, and really loved the Alex Newport produced demos. But Rubin's final made me feel like I was listening to a piece of plastic, with the guitar and coals pushed too high in the mix. Cedric's voice was more feminine, yet more abrasive than on the demos; it annoyed me. So, there was a whole album of ideas I liked, but just not their execution. I got excited for the new album once I started to hear the vision behind it, and some of the new live jams. I thought both Caught in the Sun, and A Plague Upon Your Hissing Children were both awesome (neither made the album though). The soft progression in the Middle of Cygnus sounded great live too. And it was supposed to be about the unspeakable visions of Hell, so I was imagining a dark and disturbing soundtrack to compliment the imagery found in Dante's Inferno. Finally, the production was supposed to be a step closer to the rawness of Tremulant, and I was really expecting something as aching and moving as Concertina on FTM. But instead of one step back to the stellar heights of the Tremulant Ep, they've further moved away from the ATDi sound, completely abandoning it, which is bad news for me, an ATDi fan. I think that's why this album is creating much more of a polarized reaction among fans than Deloused, because it's like a totally different group. It's a lot closer to a classic/prog rock album, a lot more upbeat than something inspired by the unspeakable visions of hell you'd expect, with shitloads of wanking, stadium sized drums and Cedric's voice adopting a slight drawl. All the songs feel bloated, with long interludes, intros and outros, needlessly tacked on, which dilute the more powerful moments on the album. The production itself is overdone too, it's not raw at all, but now there are string sections, saxes and flutes, which come off more cheesy than overwhelming like they're supposed to. A lot of the vocals are overharmonized, which again, comes off as prog rock cheesiness. I don't dig the "OMFG! WE'RE LATIN!!!" vibe they keep trying to push more and more with each record. I can understand it's a part of who they are, but they try to make it seems like it's more of a part of them than it is. They grew up in the US and are completely whitewashed, native speakers tell me their spanish is pretty off whenever they try to use it in interviews. So, the third track makes me laugh. Half of it sounds like the Matchbox 20 and Sanata collaboration. On Concertina, the spanish verse was great, but maybe it's the way the vocals are, it just comes off as grating. To its credit, the structure of the album does fit the longer songs better than on deloused, the interludes don't sap away the energy from the song as much as they did on Deloused, like on Cicatriz and Take the Veil. It's more like a chaotic live jam with a simple riff repeated over and over, and progressions and improve based on top of that. But a lot of it, especially the last song is too much like a live jam, half of it feels like the instrumentals were made up on the spot, with random pick srapings and pianos wandering in and out of the mix. That being said, it's not really a difficult album to listen to, it's pretty much all melody, and there are verses and choruses and all the stuff you're familiar with, there are just a lot more of them, and they're a lot more long winded. The biggest disappointment with the album, is that at TMV's start, Omar said he wanted to bring some virtuosity back to punk rock, something like that. He can play better than ever now, but instead of using that skill to write more expansive and fully developed ideas, the basic structure of this album are fairly simple riffs, but with him shredding on top of everything. The more the band says it tries to distance itself from the cliches of prog rock, the more they seem to fall right into them. So, I'd say anyone aching for the ATDi sound, stay far, far away, but prog and classic rock fans will probably dig this.… Expand
  2. AlanC
    Apr 2, 2005
    6
    Compared to their first CD, this album was a big disappointment. If you take the essence out of it, you're left with 5 songs and a lot of needless filler around them. It's a 70 plus minute album that feels like an EP. It leaves you wanting more. A friend of mine who saw them live said that the CD is like being at their concert... 15 minutes of jamming, and then they play the 3 Compared to their first CD, this album was a big disappointment. If you take the essence out of it, you're left with 5 songs and a lot of needless filler around them. It's a 70 plus minute album that feels like an EP. It leaves you wanting more. A friend of mine who saw them live said that the CD is like being at their concert... 15 minutes of jamming, and then they play the 3 minutes you actually recognize from their album.… Expand
  3. AshG
    Mar 1, 2005
    4
    I quote one guy who feels the exact same way as I do. "I really wanted to like this album. I defended [I] De-loused in the Comatorium [/I] throughout 2003 against my anti-prog friends. Unfortunately, [I] Frances the Mute [/I] is terrible. Without Rick Rubin at the helm, the band lacks focus, doesn't develop melodies, and can't transition between different parts of their songs. I quote one guy who feels the exact same way as I do. "I really wanted to like this album. I defended [I] De-loused in the Comatorium [/I] throughout 2003 against my anti-prog friends. Unfortunately, [I] Frances the Mute [/I] is terrible. Without Rick Rubin at the helm, the band lacks focus, doesn't develop melodies, and can't transition between different parts of their songs. Omar Rodriguez's soloing is hackneyed and goes against the flow of their earlier songs on the album. The latter half of the album is just an inconsequential jam that is utterly boring and stilted." -- Exactly how I feel!… Expand
  4. Mick
    Feb 5, 2006
    4
    You gotta hope these guys didnt set out to record some kind of latin jazz rock "masterpiece" that no one would "get" but it seems like a lot of people are buying into that and Im sure the bands not going to complain and neither would I. L'via is a good tune although overproduced like everything else on the album. Frances The Mute is flashy and trippy but not very good musically in my You gotta hope these guys didnt set out to record some kind of latin jazz rock "masterpiece" that no one would "get" but it seems like a lot of people are buying into that and Im sure the bands not going to complain and neither would I. L'via is a good tune although overproduced like everything else on the album. Frances The Mute is flashy and trippy but not very good musically in my opinion and Im not talking about playing fast or in different time signatures. I think these guys tried to skip a couple steps in their musical evolution. Hopefully theyll take a step back because God knows theyre talented and could create something that really does warrant being compared to Zeppelin IV.… Expand
  5. StevenM
    Feb 27, 2005
    6
    4 great songs, one good one (The Widow) but so much unlistenable, pointless filler too. I still believe their best is yet to come.
  6. ChrisC
    Mar 2, 2005
    6
    This album is one or two great songs -- stretched out over 70 minutes. They could write a really great album..if they got over themselves, diversified their sound, and started writing *songs*. If they did that they could be like Yes.
  7. Sjonge
    Nov 12, 2005
    6
    Not quite a patch on De-loused... which struck an excellent balance between powerful songs and unparalleled experimentalism. Those were some emotional pieces of music that literally took control of your mind. Now, Frances the Mute sounds much less consistent, gone are the strong hooks and structure, basically it feels like an extended jam session. That wouldn't be bad if the album Not quite a patch on De-loused... which struck an excellent balance between powerful songs and unparalleled experimentalism. Those were some emotional pieces of music that literally took control of your mind. Now, Frances the Mute sounds much less consistent, gone are the strong hooks and structure, basically it feels like an extended jam session. That wouldn't be bad if the album was good, but alas, it isn't. Failing to convey any recognisable emotion, sounding much less engaged and marred by completely pointless parts that are neither very adventurous nor entertaining, this one failed to draw me in even after repeated listens. Amidst the prog wankery, which I'm sure was fun to try, they forgot to write strong songs. A definate step back for the band, almost nothing here can touch the glory of De-loused. Although I'm afraid the band themselves might not think so and make album 3 even more of a pointless mess.… Expand
  8. CurranS
    Mar 14, 2005
    6
    Ok so I think that everyone can agree that the Mars Volta are all ridiculously talented. However, "Frances the Mute" essentially just brings the phrase "it has it's moments" new meaning. When listening to this I find myself being enchanted one minute and disgusted the next. It's a very inconsistant and messy album. When the Mars Volta are on, they are really on; the first half Ok so I think that everyone can agree that the Mars Volta are all ridiculously talented. However, "Frances the Mute" essentially just brings the phrase "it has it's moments" new meaning. When listening to this I find myself being enchanted one minute and disgusted the next. It's a very inconsistant and messy album. When the Mars Volta are on, they are really on; the first half of "L'Via L'Viaquez" is utterly an amazing listen. On the other hand, when the Mars Volta are off, they are really, really off; pseudo power-ballad, "The Widow" is three minutes of cheesy, melodramatic sludge followed by three minutes of pointless noise sludge. It is a terrible single and I find it kind of ironic that the shortest song, 5 times shorter than the longest is also 5 times the inferior to "Cassandra Gemini", a thirty three minute, seven part, four suite opus that was not only intended to be huge in length and much to my suprise, about half of it works. No one can deny the talent of Omar, Cedric and company but no one likes a showing off, which is what most of this album is.… Expand
  9. JonH.
    Mar 28, 2005
    6
    Takes some getting use to, but it's not that bad, i doubt it will last in my collection though. I would love for this band to actually write real songs, y'know, one's that don't take up 30 minutes of my time.
  10. Spencer
    Apr 22, 2005
    4
    where as De-loused was tight, exciting, and enjoyable, Frances The Mute is pretensious, drawn out, and all around a drag to listen to. Even Rodriguez's playing is nothing special on this album. The album seems to be entirely improv, and not very good improv at that (3 notes of a diminished scale over and over again isn't interesting, which is proven in one of his solo's). where as De-loused was tight, exciting, and enjoyable, Frances The Mute is pretensious, drawn out, and all around a drag to listen to. Even Rodriguez's playing is nothing special on this album. The album seems to be entirely improv, and not very good improv at that (3 notes of a diminished scale over and over again isn't interesting, which is proven in one of his solo's). EXTREMELY dissapointing… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 31
  3. Negative: 3 out of 31
  1. Alternative Press
    100
    It's already the most riveting album of 2005--provided you're ready to carve a wide enough hole in your consciousness to accept it. [Mar 2005, p.130]
  2. Filter
    68
    Frances the Mute documents the Mars Volta as a passionate and explosive band that has grown capable of taking the music in a hundred different directions. [#14, p.96]
  3. Spin
    91
    Frances explores an explosive groove Comatorium only implied. [Mar 2005, p.83]
See all critic reviews »