Omar’s first solo album.  It was billed as the first half of a soundtrack to the film A Manual Dexterity.  The film never released.  In later interviews Omar has mentioned that seeing footage of Jeremy made it too interpersonally difficult to release the film.  

The majority of the album was recorded in 2001 following the break-up of At the Drive-In.  The album was finished at Mad Dog Studios, where De-Loused was originally intended to be recorded, in 2004 and released shortly after.  

“Deus Ex Machina” is a version of a song “Reina de Mi Vida” written by Omar’s father Angel Marcelo Rodriguez for the salsa orchestra El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico; here, it is performed by Angel Marcelo himself.

In an interview in 2008 with The Mars Volta Italia when asked about when A Manual Dexterity will come out he said:

“I don’t know! (laughs) The problem with “A Manual Dexterity” is this: is for some time now, even after I finished it … The first thing is this: it is a project I had abandoned all together. It is a project I said: “No, this is…” You know, especially after Jeremy died… I don’t want anyone to see this, this is a movie with him, it is very personal. But during his life Jeremy had always encouraged me, he said: “No, you need to put that film out! I really like it, I know people would like it! It’s an art film or whatever it is but I think it’s important you do it because I like it and I think it’s good and your friends too. It’s just you should do the way you do with your music and not care.” And I said: “Hum… but you know I don’t have time, I’m not gonna do anything with it.” I put it on the shells and unconsciously were asking about me “What about “A Manual Dexterity”? …What about “A Manual Dexterity”?” and so then, when he died in 2003, I thought two ways about it, like I said I felt I didn’t wanna do anything with it and then right about at the end of the year I could not stop thinking about how much he wanted it to come out so that’s why I decided “You know what? There’s a part of me who doesn’t want it to happen, what I’ll do is just put out the soundtrack.” And by putting out the soundtrack there was a certain matter of things, of emotions. It wants to come out even if I don’t want it to come out. I would make it as Jeremy requested it long and it all had to come out so then I put out the soundtrack thinking that it was an essential part of the movie and then just when I was about to put out the movie and the second part of the soundtrack I had legal problems with people that wanted the film back. The  people that I’m not friend with now, they don’t wanna give me.. they don’t wanna find the right for me to put out the movie with their scenes and that were scenes that were very essential for the film so… Now 3 years later, now I worked out this thing with one person in particular and they’re not so angry with me anymore (laughs). And you know, it looks like now legal problems will be over so I can put the film and the second part of the soundtrack out.”

“Omar’s work as a solo artist begins with music from a film that was never released, a cinematic vision that shows some of his many influences, from electronic experiments and free rock to leftfield Latin music.” – Clouds Hill