Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo is
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's third full-length recording. The first was his soundtrack for his own film Manual Dexterity (as yet unreleased), which featured
Mars Volta lyricist and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala on one cut. His second, a self-titled disc on the Willie Anderson label, is an all-instrumental effort. While gigging with his own quintet, a loose live project with members of
the Mars Volta and guests, he recorded a live EP with legendary vocalist
Damo Suzuki, formerly of
Can. In addition, he has composed the music for the film El Bufalo de la Noche for director Guillermo Arriaga. The title of this 2007 effort is a tribute of sorts to the director and collaborators on El Bufalo de la Noche, and is dedicated to them. The players on this set include
Mars Volta members Cedric Bixler-Zavala,
Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Juan Alderete de la Peña, and Adrián Terrazas-González, with guest appearances by
"Money Mark" Ramos-Nishita and
Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist
John Frusciante. It was recorded mostly in Amsterdam (where the guitarist makes his home these days) with supplemental recording and mixing done in Los Angeles. The set opens with two brief sketches, the 26-second improvisation "The Lukewarm" and "Luxury of Infancy," a Spanish blues melody played over skeletal interlaced guitars. It may only be a minute and 15 seconds long, but it carries within it all the heart one needs to know that something special is in store. The set really kicks in with "Rapid Fire Tollbooth," a prog rock tune played by
the Volta live. Indeed, most of the band is here, along with
Money Mark on keyboards. The vocal by Bixler-Zavala (one of three on the disc), with its soul-blues howl, stands in stark contrast to the heavy, plodding
Zappa-esque melody with killer woodwind work by Terrazas-González. The fuzzed-out wah-wah guitar solo atop the soprano saxophone and keyboard work is a screamer, making for one of the set's standout cuts.
The spaced-out soundscape and guitar piece "Thermometer Drinking the Bussness of Turnstiles" serves as another prelude, disorienting the listener before the title track enters, a gorgeous song that begins as a sparse Western ballad of sorts, with nice piano work by
Money Mark and a soulful vocal performance by Bixler-Zavala. But it's
Rodriguez-Lopez's guitar work that's most impressive, crunching deeply into
Ennio Morricone soundtrack territory, accompanied by sci-fi synth work by brother
Marcel and woodwinds. With its loose, distorted, trebly axe work and the vocal sprawling out to coat the middle range of the mix, it's a soul crooner from the Mexican desert circa 2525. The dynamics and texture of this seemingly simple tune are attention-grabbers, creating space in the middle of sonic washouts that pit different melodies and solo works against one another while remaining melodic and mysterious. The sprawling, 11-and-a-half-minute "Please Heat This Eventually" (the title track of the live disc) makes a reappearance here without
Suzuki's screaming. It begins as yet another sideways, loopy twister of keyboards and angular synths before launching itself into a full-blown psych-prog masterpiece with
Money Mark, Terrazas-González, and
Rodriguez-Lopez all playing call and response in the front line. While this may have been the logical way to end the album,
Rodriguez-Lopez tacks on three more cuts, the spooky, atmospheric ballad "Lurking About in a Cold Sweat (Held Together by Venom)," on which he and
Marcel play everything; the knotty, run-filled jazz-cum-mariachi tune "Boiling Death Request a Body to Rest Its Head On," with lyric-less vocals by
Jon DeBaun; and the final freakout jam, "La Tirania de La Tradiciòn," where sheer rock intensity meets swirling organs, whirling synths, and Bixler-Zavala's trademark yowl. It begins at a sprint, nearly falls apart in the middle, held together only by
Jon Theodore's drums, and comes back together before disintegrating completely into a free-from ambient noise freakout before it abruptly stops, leaving the listener in stunned silence. This is the most focused, progressive, and sheer musical effort yet from
Rodriguez-Lopez, and sets the bar high for his future solo projects -- as well as calling into question
the Mars Volta, who've made increasingly disappointing recordings. ~ Thom Jurek