Before At The Drive-In recorded Relationship of Command (2000), they did the seven-song Vaya EP a year before. On this record, the band delves quite deeply into of experimentation, adding psychedelic, jazz and dub influences to their post-hardcore noisy indie rock core sound. Right off the bat, the EP kicks off with "Rascuache" that features time changes, dub percussion and a bit of jazz tinge along its trademark guitar attack and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala's passionate screams. "Ursa Minor" shows ATDI at their most angular with their dissonant heavy-duty guitar attacks with subtle electronics lurking underneath. There's still a bit of traditional punk/indie sound on this record and it seems that this EP would be the best indicator of the creative tensions between Bixler-Zavala, guitarist Omar Rodriguez and the rest of the members, the former favoring experimentation and eclectic arrangements and the latter favoring more straight-ahead rock/punk/indie sound. While musically the arrangements showcase an intelligent and inventive kind of a post-hardcore group and some of the songs like "198d" rank among the best melodic ATDI numbers, in retrospect one gets the feeling that a band as talented as ATDI never really managed to stabilize into a harmonious, self-sufficient unit. It seems no wonder that after Relationship of Command, ATDI would disband and split into Sparta and Mars Volta. Nonetheless, Vaya shows ATDI at their most daring and as such, the EP is a very impressive effort.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
At The Drive-In - Vaya EP (1999)
Before At The Drive-In recorded Relationship of Command (2000), they did the seven-song Vaya EP a year before. On this record, the band delves quite deeply into of experimentation, adding psychedelic, jazz and dub influences to their post-hardcore noisy indie rock core sound. Right off the bat, the EP kicks off with "Rascuache" that features time changes, dub percussion and a bit of jazz tinge along its trademark guitar attack and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala's passionate screams. "Ursa Minor" shows ATDI at their most angular with their dissonant heavy-duty guitar attacks with subtle electronics lurking underneath. There's still a bit of traditional punk/indie sound on this record and it seems that this EP would be the best indicator of the creative tensions between Bixler-Zavala, guitarist Omar Rodriguez and the rest of the members, the former favoring experimentation and eclectic arrangements and the latter favoring more straight-ahead rock/punk/indie sound. While musically the arrangements showcase an intelligent and inventive kind of a post-hardcore group and some of the songs like "198d" rank among the best melodic ATDI numbers, in retrospect one gets the feeling that a band as talented as ATDI never really managed to stabilize into a harmonious, self-sufficient unit. It seems no wonder that after Relationship of Command, ATDI would disband and split into Sparta and Mars Volta. Nonetheless, Vaya shows ATDI at their most daring and as such, the EP is a very impressive effort.
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