The "Lucro Sucio" Era

Has a band's new 'era' ever began via a leak on the internet?  We can't recall an instance of it either, but it is hard to counter the claim that it is how the Lucro Sucio era commenced.

Quietly left on Reddit a leak (intentional or not is up for debate) months before the albums actual release, Lucro was given to The Mars Volta fans with hardly any fanfare.  Mix in out new AI slop reality and fans were perplexed.  Was this real or  a generated simulation of The Mars Volta.  It sure sounded real, so if it was a computer created fake it was a darn near impressive one.  It wasn't helped that fan forum jokesters pushed the false narrative hard to create endless confusion for their lazy entertainment.

Typically in this scenario the breadcrumbs become a trail quite quickly, a tacit acknowledgement of the leak, an admission of a forthcoming project, but for The Mars Volta and Clouds Hill there was nothing; complete silence, neither a denial or admission.  A bold choice that created further fervor in the fan community.  

Most likely by accident, the trail came to fruition.  Comparing notes with a Polish online retailer we found the parallels between song names and lyrics buried in this haunted mystery.  Was it an elaborate hoax or were we truly refusing to cue the sun?  Was this atypically simple album cover truly the face of a new The Mars Volta release?  

Of course, a little patience pays off because we know all of it was real and all of it was true.  Their 8th....9th, LP would indeed be this slower more methodical, but sonically enormous album.  The dedicated were quick to note sonic and lyrical parallels to Noctourniquet including the minimal guitar, emphasis on synths, and lyrical references such as the voice in the knives.  Connections, sure but that would be denying Lucro's truly unique voice in the discography; a blend of those charged synth tones with Latin roots, lunar salsa if you will.

The mum nature of advertising and promotion remained consistent until the record's release, again confounding the faithful and flying under the radar of the casual.  To the observer, it was an opportunity wasted to hype a new album.  To those on the inside, it was all intentional.  Instead of blasting the arrival of their next output the band wanted to generate a long lost of air of mystery.  The plan, quietly out this album on the shelves in a non-descript paper bag.  Rekindle the old feeling of discovering a mysterious album in the wild and gambling on whether it would be good.  No lyrics, barely a track list.  The album's existence and content were to be a puzzle for us to discover.  In a world of deeply unsubtle album releases filled with explainers, commentary, and notations there was indeed something special about this obtuse relic.  

The release of a new The Mars Volta album is always all well and good, but the committed know the magic happens live.  The album is mainly a marker in time for the larger progression and growth that is noted on stage, where the songs blossom and grow into something new.  

Instead of charging head-on into a headlining tour The Mars Volta would opt into a supporting slot for Deftones during their upcoming arena tour.  The Mars Volta have a mixed relationship with arena shows, often being too sonically dense for the space to cater to, creating a booming cacophony of noise and thunder.  Furthermore, it wasn't uncommon for those supporting slots to be maybe 3 heavily expanded songs that would fill the 45 minute time slot.

This time was notably different.  For the first time in over 20 years they opted to play an entire album through, bringing this new, unknown, release on the road to confound the Deftones loyals.  The line-ups would be the same as the last few years, with the notable exception of Teri Suarez providing back up harmonizing vocals, a first for the band, and a welcome addition to the live performance.

Concert-goers, unsurprisingly, were confounded.  Those casually familiar with The Mars Volta were lost in a sea of brand new material that had barely been out in the world, hoping and praying they could get a crumb of something familiar; The Widow, Inertiatic, Goliath, something!  The hardcore, cited a band invigorated to bring this mystery on the road, with the songs evolving during these brief sets.  

With a tour scheduled for later 2025 it will be curious to see how the band treats the new material when they have a full time slot to play with.