it's not over til the tremulant sings

Those who rock the jam-band flava know that you check out live shows and bootlegs, and that albums are less important. I may be somewhat of a Deadhead (though not a Phishhead or a Spreadhead or a String Cheesehead), and so I know that, as the Mars Volta pushes ever closer to jam-band-ness with Frances The Mute, a release like the new Scab Dates is totally appropriate. Don't be fooled by the CD's supposed twelve tracks: despite the apparently new song titles (what the hell is a "Gust of Mutts"?), which I assume are ripped from some drug-fueled diary or late night vaporizer binge with John Frusciante, the only true songs here are De-loused's "Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt" and "Cicatriz," along with "Concertina" from the Tremulant EP. Interestingly, no songs from the aforementioned sophomore album appear here; I guess they figured that LP was jammy enough already. I am disappointed, slightly, that the album was recorded at a variety of shows from May 2004 to May 2005, as opposed to a single show (a proper bootleg). Considering that, though, Omar does a ridiculous job of mixing the tracks to make them sound contiguous. More so, the versions selected here are outstanding examples of peak Volta performance: "Cerpin Taxt" is jagged and drivingly abstract, "Concertina" is a serious Latin boogie, and "Cicatriz" is absolutely blistering. And of course, the interluding jams are spacey and noisy. A necessity for Voltaheads (too much?) disappointed by the recent rash of masturbatory releases (namely, the "Frances The Mute" vinyl single and its accompanying b-side), and Pitchfork can continue fucking off for their Volta reviews.