Hooray for me! Also several others, but it’s hard to get excited about that. Lucro sucio; Los ojos del vacio, the long-awaited Mars Volta double album I totally manifested is here at last, and it is a delightful compendium of traditional Puerto Rican sounds illustrated by Cedric’s heart-wrenching lyrics. All the wishes I made when I started this project have (kinda) come true. Technically, I wanted a triple-album and a week-long residency at a London venue (preferably south of the river: hollow laff), but that’s because I’m also greedy, in addition to be being nosy and opinionated.
As I downshift out of this project, I’m struck by how often my somewhat haphazard method of selecting albums mirrors my current emotional state and likely has a subconscious effect on the art I’m drawn towards. So even though I don’t really have a set method for picking records, the one I select has an uncanny way of aligning with not only other music I’m listening to but also books I’ve read and sometimes even art exhibitions I’ve been to. Saber, Querer, Osar y Callar is the second of 2012’s trilogy of electronica-influenced albums. Like Un Corazón de Nadie and Octopus Kool Aid, the production ethos leans towards the blurry, often with a considerable reverb applied to most of the vocals affecting a wounded confusion, much like my very last wispy and fraying nerve.
And as ever, I tend towards the familiar in times of stress; as with the other two albums in the trilogy, some of this material was later reworked for near-complete do-over effort Zapopan: the opening tracks “Home Lost” and “Habits” became “Hollow Change” and “Archangel”, “Spellbound” became “Spell Broken Hearts”. “Tentáculos”, originally descended from “Agua Dulce de Pulpo” for Un Escorpión Perfumado, was further dicked around to produce “Tentáculos de Fé” for Zapopan, and it’s this version that was called “mor” on the live album Chocolate Tumor Hormone Parade. Finally, “Fear Eats the Soul” was remade on Umbrella Mistress as “Through Wires”.
Having other versions to compare does bring out the ‘well, actually’ guy in me; in truth, Saber begins with something of an inauspicious start with the split tracks: a strong synthy intro immediately introduces weedy, doctored vocal effects that are incongruous with the confident beat (and the inclusion of whispering will always cause misophonic red mist to descend). The lyrics to “Spellbound” are nothing short of poetic genius but are so reverbed as to be unintelligible, which is a shame because the fierce drumming and close atmosphere are brilliant emotional drivers. “Fear Eats the Soul” is broadly the same track as on Umbrella Mistress (whose sharpened edges and slightly truncated length remains my preferred version).
Contemporaneous reviews were also conflicted about Saber. ORL review stalwarts Sputnikmusic were excited to hear his further explorations in the world of electronica, calling it “delicate and alluring…sensually ambient”. The review on Prog Archives disagrees, disappointed to find it a “vibey mood piece” too focused on the textural interchange between vocals and drums. I think that comment does track: Saber is one of a handful of near-pure solo efforts, with ORL performing most instruments barring Deantoni Parks on live/non-programmed drums. There is something of a disconnect between the drums and vocals which is plainly evident and which is applied with varying degrees of success. That’s because I will never be a fan of the kind of vocal distortion used during this ORL era, but I can easily overlook this when I contrast it with the intensity of Deantoni’s drumming.
Sometimes this dichotomy does have an advantage. “Tentáculos” – my old, familiar friend – continues a well-worn journey from the original to bring in newer elements while maintaining the claustrophobic power of “Agua Dulce de Pulpo”. A sci-fi zippiness adds a bit of air, supporting desultory vocals dripping a resigned half-boredom, like a foppish Victorian half-cut on laudanum who totally does not care if that saucy minx is giving him the eye or not. And while I also enjoy the hard-edged later versions of this song, the fuzzy production and thudding heart produce a successful blending of muted vibes with intensity.
Another example of this successful contrast between drums and vocals arrives later in “Gentle Umbrellas”. Vocal effects are drastically dialled down while maintaining the soft, fraying texture felt across the album. Contemplative mellotron pulses in tandem with the lyrics, and the track builds in intensity from these soft pulses, through a groovy middle eight. While the lyrics croon to the ‘you’ of the subject with increasing desperation, the track rises to a crescendo where the drums nearly overwhelm the vocals.
But the same vocal/drum pairing incongruity fares less well on tracks like “Better to Hang a Dead Husband Than to Lose a Living Lover” and “Compartir (Sharing a Bus)”, which don’t offer enough variety and test my patience. Then again, at another time and in a different mood, I might find them as soothing as I do “Decided?”, a tinkly, pseudo-a cappella dreamscape that dodges the drum/vocal issue by not having any. The final track “Angel Hair” is a fitting conclusion, sighing romantic cliches I never wanted anyone / as much as I wanted you…don’t leave me dying here that would be misplaced on a slicker or harder-edged production.
It’s this misguided idealisation bordering on toxic romance peppered throughout Saber that reminds me of Pulp’s Separations; dark electronica steeped in rock, with just a soupçon of the misogyny that stems from the sudden-but-inevitable disappointment after it transpires that the feminine mystique is a load of horseshit. I can’t say with any confidence how self-aware this is; regardless, the emotional effect is honest.
As much as I reach for complex and multilayered rock, medically prescribed to be played as loud as possible in order to blast away difficult emotions, in my dotage I have begun to realise the importance of taking time to instead acknowledge these feelings. Saber, Querer, Osar y Callar is a fitting soundtrack for the wind-down of Omargeddon, prefacing a soft shuffle goodbye.
Track listing:
Home Lost
Habits
Gentle Umbrellas
Spellbound
Fear Eats the Soul
Better to Hang a Dead Husband Than to Lose a Living Lover
Tentáculos
Decided?
Compartir (Sharing a Bus)
Angel Hair