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- Record Label: Rodriguez Lopez Productions
- Release Date: Nov 10, 2009
- Summary: Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez Lopez releases his first Spanish-only solo album.
- Record Label: Rodriguez Lopez Productions
- Genre(s): Rock, Alternative
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 7
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Mixed: 4 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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Xenophanes might be the most concise statement Rodriguez Lopez has ever made (11 tracks in 45 minutes), and its tidiness is evident from the (mostly) taut song structures, urgent pacing, shortened solos, and singable melodies.
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Xenophanes is proof that even as he reins himself in a bit, Rodriguez-Lopez cannot help but to push the envelope; this time it's as a rock & roll songwriter who knows too much to keep it simple, yet understands the instinct to draw the listener in, time and again, with layers of subtlety, powerful emotions, sleight-of-hand aural magic, and sheer power, as well as sophistication.
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The result is a listenable, more conventional version of his primary band. Though refreshing in a solo-career context, we've heard most of this stuff before.
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The feel is still sketchy and somewhat improvised, but there's no sense that these songs are simply impressionistic doodles.
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Alternative PressIt's a moody composition with occasional moments of brilliance that will ultimately leave most listeners as confused as they are content. [Oct 2009, p.114]
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Only staunch Volta cultists would claim every minute of Xenophanes is worth your precious leisure time. But damn if the best bits don't make an excellent in-car soundtrack for pretending you're on your way to something more dramatic than your day job.
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For a solo artist obsessed album-in and album-out with delivering a product alien to the mothership, this move represents a regression, a willingness to tread ground he's covered, almost note-for-note.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 0 out of
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Mixed: 0 out of
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Negative: 0 out of