At The Drive-In - Enfilade

     It's been a long decade and a half since since post-hardcore legends At The Drive-In called it quits. It's also been about three years since the band last played live, in 2012. But it seems the guys will be getting back together for at least one more live outing, next May's Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio.

     Now, there is of course no current indication that this is anything other than a one-shot kind of thing, getting the band back together for a big festival. There isn't really even any reason to dream wild dreams of reunion and new material, especially since Omar had always been more or less of the opinion that At The Drive-In had run its natural course, creatively speaking, by the time of the 2001 dissolution.

     We can, however, still hope against hope, right? I feel like this might be one of those situations where fans' expectations are so high that anything would be a disappointment, but that's not going to stop this writer's wishful thinking. While I await the corresponding first flight of pigs to pass by overhead, have a listen to "Enfilade" from the absolutely classic Relationship of Command, if for no other reason than Iggy Pop's menacing ransom call at the start.

Album of the Week: The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium

     I'm going throwback Tuesday with this week's Album of the Week post, taking you right back to the early days of the blog for this week's pick. In trying to recommend an album each week, I'm trying to pick something that has enough meat on its bones to stand up to repeated listens.

     The ideal Album of the Week should in fact not only stand up to repeated listening but actually reward it, revealing new facets and aspects with every time through. One of the very first bands I wrote about two years ago has a back catalogue that includes several such albums, but as far as The Mars Volta is concerned, I really think you're best served to start at the start.

     De-loused in the Comatorium is still, in my opinion, the band's best work. Even if you knew At the Drive-In and the story of its demise and the band's it spawned, you still couldn't have been ready for the style of high-energy salsa prog Omar and Cedric brewed up in De-loused. Later albums got further and further out there, to the point that "prog" sometimes veered into "wankery", but De-loused struck the perfect balance of focus and meandering jamitude.

     I know I say this all the time, but this really is a case of if you're already a fan it's probably time you revisited this record, and if you're not it's probably time you got familiar. Mars Volta fans who got on board later in the band's career take special note: this is the band in its prime. If you don't know this album, you need to, so study up this week. It'll be on the quiz.

Thursday: Antemasque - 4AM

     The reuniting of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala -- the dynamic duo behind At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta -- would, one might well hope and expect, result in the resurrection of one or the other of the two aforementioned storied acts. Sadly, as Mick so wisely opined, we can't always get what we want. But sometimes we can get what we need...

     In this case, that turns out to be a new supergroup of sorts starring Rodriguez-Lopez, Bixler-Zavala, drummer David Elitch (formerly of Volta and currently of Killer Be Killed, another supergroup you might have heard of), and some guy named Flea. Sounds like it's going to suck, doesn't it? The first song we're hearing from the band, a rocking number called "4AM", has a vibe closer to At the Drive-In than The Mars Volta, but that doesn't mean Antemasque sounds like a knock-off or anything.

     One song isn't really enough to judge a band or an album by, but I'll do just that and say that Antemasque has the potential to be a good time. Will it eclipse any of the bands from which its members hail? Probably not. But if "4AM" is any indication, there might be some cool, catchy little songs to be had. Check it out and see what you think.