The best, um, only Emo-Prog record of the year

Daily life seems to be a made up of extremes for The Mars Volta. There are no in-betweens, no subtle shades of gray for this band. Everything is done with such an intensity here that the lyrics could be an epic about washing the dishes and you'd still feel charged at the end of it. The atmospheric textures recall Led Zeppelin's overlooked, experimental work later in its career. The drums pay homage to Rush's Neil Peart and Zep's "Achilles Last Stand" throughout, setting the tone of the album by putting tempo changes and unrelenting, thundering rhythms at the forefront instead of hooks. It wouldn't quite be fair to call these guys "Dream Theatre Eat World;" they should stand out on their own. The musicianship and patience win out instead of blind experimentation, so the group never sound as if they're noodling or dulled by technical perfectionism. The layers of sound and dimension fuse with the strict rhythms with a certain freedom. But it makes sense that the two musical styles that paid the least attention to moderation fit well together. Whether or not the hybrid could work for other bands is doubtful, but inconsequential. These guys more than pull it off, they convince you they're living it.