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El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Cryptomnesia Hot

Sunday, 19 April 2009

Editor's rating

9.1

out of 10

Reviewed by:
Ryan Lenihan
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Sunday, 19 April 2009
Average user rating: 8.8
2 User reviews

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Music Information

Track Listing:
01. Tuberculoids
02. Half Kleptos
03. Cryptomnesia
04. They're Coming to Get You, Barbara
05. Puny Humans
06. Shake Is for 8th Graders
07. Noir
08. Paper Cunts
09. Elderly Pair Beaten with Hammer
10. Warren Oates
11. "Fuck Your Mouth

Artist: El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez
Title: Cryptomnesia
Genre: Progressive Rock
Release Date: 05 May 2009
Record Label: Sargent House
Format: Full-length
Country: United States of America
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El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Cryptomnesia

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Editor review

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful


Overall rating (weighted)		9.1
Musicianship		10.0
Composition		9.0
Experimentation		9.0
Production		8.0
Value		9.0

When I heard my favorite guitarist and favorite drummer were teaming up for an album, I was (needless to say) very excited. Then, with the announcement that one of my favorite vocalists would also be appearing on the majority of the tracks, I had to make sure the lock on my diary hadn\'t been tampered with. But with all of this excitement and self-created hype surrounding the album, I had to wonder, could it really live up to it all?

Upon first listen, I was a little disappointed. However, with how much I had built this up in my head, I couldn\'t just have a listen and be done with it, so I gave it another spin (or three), and everything began to come together for me.
Let\'s start with the vocals. Cedric\'s vocal range has always impressed me, and with this album it is becoming more apparent that not only can he hit a wide range of notes, he can also do it in a wide range of styles. Cedric\'s vocals on the first track, \'Tuberculoids\' sounds like nothing I have ever heard from him before. He takes what would just be a solid progressive rock song and turns it into a haunting, yet catchy tune and one of the highlights of the album. Omar made a wise decision in deciding to add vocals to the project almost 2 years after the rest of the album had been recorded. The lyrical content is also classic Mars Volta-esque cryptic gibberish which does more to paint a picture and set a mood than to actually get a message across.

On to the mighty Zach Hill. To be perfectly honest, this album would be mediocre without him. Each one of Omar\'s signature spazzy riffs is answered and one-upped by Hill\'s spastic drumming. With this said, he also makes sure to keep it toned down when needed. He seems perfectly content dropping back and just keeping a rhythm while Omar takes over, and then he\'s back in your face with the aggressiveness right when it\'s needed. \'Noir\' is a perfect example of this.

Obviously, the album wasn\'t perfect, but it was damn near close for me. My main qualm is that the guitars seem to be a bit too layered. It wouldn\'t be as much of a problem if the tone of the guitars varied a little bit more to create a fuller sound though.

This is my favorite by far of any of Omar\'s solo material. It\'s like he perfected the aggressiveness that he aimed to achieve, but fell short of, with \'The Bedlam In Goliath\'. With how prolific this man has been over the past few years, it\'s a wonder how he can continue to put out such great releases. I can only hope his head is still full of ideas.

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Last updated: Sunday, 19 April 2009

User reviews

Average user rating from: 2 user(s)


Overall rating (weighted)		8.8
Musicianship		8.5
Composition		9.0
Experimentation		9.0
Production		8.5
Value		9.0

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

Wednesday, 22 April 2009

Written by Keith Carlson - View all my reviews - Top 10 Reviewer


Overall rating (weighted)		8.1
Musicianship		8.0
Composition		8.0
Experimentation		8.0
Production		8.0
Value		9.0

Most of the songs off the album are under three minutes, which makes for a more jam session vibe from the band, compared to the monolith concept albums of The Mars Volta. With half of the members being The Mars Volta\'s core composers, it\'s not a surprise that El Grupo Nuevo doesn\'t stray far from the TMV sound. Though, I was left wanting a little more at first. With the exception of \"Punky Humans\", I was honestly hoping for more drums solos. Though that is really tough to say, considering that Zach Hill\'s style of playing could be thought of as \"complimentary soloing\". I kind of wished there was more long winded, musical \'battling\' between Omar and Zach. This album could have been a lot more epic in that respect. But hey, I trust that you won\'t be in that frame of mind. With all due respect, this is Omar Rodriguez\'s band, and you need at least a second listen to get anywhere near the full effect.

On the shinier side of the coin, Cryptomensia is a punk, funky, energetic and psychedelic musical trip, though deep down, I might have expected something a little different. I really couldn\'t ask for more. I feel this album is great alternative if you weren\'t the biggest \"Bedlam in Goliath\" fan. This album doesn\'t really expand Omar\'s musical variety as much as it does to his volumes of albums and projects. However, it seems Omar\'s right mix of drugs and musicians are always nothing less of A-class tunes. With almost 30 albums under his belt, Omar Rodriguez Lopez surprisingly doesn\'t show a sliver of slowing down.

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Last updated: Friday, 19 June 2009

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful

Sunday, 19 April 2009

Written by Cat Scam - View all my reviews - Top 50 Reviewer


Overall rating (weighted)		9.5
Musicianship		9.0
Composition		10.0
Experimentation		10.0
Production		9.0
Value		9.0

Omar Rodriguez Lopez has a musicial mind unlike any other so bringing us another masterpiece of musicial composition was no suprise to me.

His work in The Mars Volta has always made me very happy so when I heard about this collaboration with Zach Hill (Hella, Orthrelm) I was more then excited.

This record is like The Mars Volta but a little rawer and rougher and the drumming work of the master Zach Hill. Cryptomnesia has a great amount of polyrhythms, off-putting riffs, vocals and lyrics done by one of my fav vocalist Cedric Bixler Zavala (The Mars Volta) making it a close to perfect album for me.

If you like or liked any of The Mars Voltas work this album is for you. -Cat Scam

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