The Mars Volta haven't really been around all that long. They got started in 2001 and their first album was released in 2003. In band years that's a rather short time, especially when you've managed to gain a reputation as one of the foremost experimental, progressive and just generally "out there" groups to come along in a very long time. They have gotten big-time recognition for their efforts (i.e. a Grammy and having the distinction of being The Red Hot Chili Peppers favorite band), and have more or less jumped past a lot of the acknowledged struggle these kinds of bands have had to withstand in gaining an audience. Which is good and dangerous all at the same time. Good because it means they don't have to "audition" all the time in trying to get their message across. Dangerous because there's a goodly amount of complacency to be had (just saying) and a freeze process can happen in lieu of evolving and charting new territory. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen. But right now they are enjoying massive appeal all over the world and it's having a marked positive effect on music as a result.

Tonight it's a track from their debut album De-Loused In The Comatorium, released in 2003. Televators is probably one of the less frantic cuts on the album, but it is no less powerful. The Mars Volta are becoming household names during a time when music is actively splintering and searching. They offer a wonderful direction for the taking.