Search - Omar Rodriguez-Lopez :: Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack 1

The Best of the All the ATDI/Mars Volta Side Projects

Zachary A. Hanson | Tallahassee, FL United States | 04/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It took me a year or so to appreciate all the places that this one goes, but after careful deliberation and a continuously ballooning obsession with Mars Volta, I have decided that this is better than DeFacto and Omar's newest solo album, the projects that have come outside ATDI and Volta. It goes all over the place, the highlight to this approach being the acid-soaked salsa freak-out "Deus Ex Machina." Really, this is true salsa, with a salsa singer singing about "la reina de [su] vida" or the queen of his heart. The whole time the traditional instruments are drenched in phaser and distortion, creating a salsa song like none you've ever heard.



There are some very intriguing guitar-noise experiments that differ from track to track, the whole thing being capped off with a song that sounds like Mars Volta since Cedric sings on it ("the palpitations form a limit"). The rest is pure instrumental esotericism. If you are curious to hear what Omar and Co. do outside of ATDI and Mars Volta, this is the place to start. I have a strong feeling that you will want to buy all the other side project material after this one, exposing you fully to the constant joy, wonder, and mind-blowing that goes with being a Mars Volta fanatic. I would love to describe all of these strange excursions on this album, but I am not going to mar with words the terrains that Omar plumbs with sounds. I am going to leave it up to your perception to discover them for yourself."

Honest Review

Rodney Melt | Chicago, IL | 12/23/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Here's my honest, non-brown nosing the Mars Volta opinion. This album is so and so. Nothing on here screams out 'amazing' and this would not appeal to you just because you love At the Drive-In and/or the Mars Volta. I understand loyalty and all because I love the two above mentioned bands but this solo debut just doesn't live up to it.



Omar is responsible for the sound of any band he's been in, writing all of the music in his unique style. I think Omar should have actually held this soundtrack off until his movie came out.



Overproduced, alot of the usual Mars Volta-synth and mellow, floaty intros and break downs, reverse guitar and hispanic music influence.. with a big dose of Pink Floyd.... borrow this album. Don't kill your 18$ on it unless you are sure you will want to listen to this over and over. My copy has been made use of maybe 6 times since I got it.. as opposed to "De-Loused" which gets listened to once a week."

Esotericaly great

Jake Franco | USA | 02/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this is a great, unorthodox and avant garde work of art. if you like lots and lots of white noise with very few structured guitar parts, then you will love this. only a few songs actually have structure to them, and the rest are spacey, atmospheric and psychedelic sounds (most created by omar himself, a la typewriter in one of the songs) do not get this thinking it will be anything remotely similar to atdi. keep in mind that this is a soundtrack to omar's unreleased film and it is not a rock album. if you like those trippy moments in the the mars volta songs, then you'll probably love this. while it may not be the most exciting thing i'v heard from omar, i am giving it 5 stars because for what it is, it's done with remarkable patience and creativity."