Formed by guitarist/composer Omar Rodríguez-López and singer/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, The Mars Volta rose from the ashes of El Paso punk-rock firebrands At The Drive-In in 2001. On a mission to “honour our roots and honour our dead”, The Mars Volta made music that fused the Latin sounds Rodríguez-López was raised on with the punk and underground noise he and Bixler-Zavala had immersed themselves in for years, and the futuristic visions they were tapping into. The albums that followed were one-of-a-kind masterpieces, their songs of breath-taking complexity also possessing powerful emotional immediacy.

Now –their first new album since their eponymous return in 2022– the duo is back, accompanied by established players such as keyboard-player Marcel Rodríguez-López, bassists Eva Gardner and Joshua Moreau alongside drummers Philo Tsongui and Willy Rodriguez and multi-instrumentalist Leo Genovese. The new album shakes loose some of The Mars Volta’s long-standing shibboleths, fearlessly defying all expectations and categorizations.

Instead, Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos Del Vacio pulses with subtle brilliance, electronic rhythms underpinning sophisticated, turbulent songcraft. This is The Mars Volta at their most mature, most concise, most focused. Their sound and fury channeled to greatest effect, an elaboration upon Rodríguez-López’s subterranean pop melodies driving Bixler-Zavala’s haunting but comforting vocals.