This record was the second LP I bought in the Tuesday-record-from-Spillers year. I'd browsed through most of what they had and found this one for a strangely cheap £7. When I took it to the counter there was even surprise from the staff that it was so cheap. This was back in 2008 so there was no chance that it was supposed to be £17. I was pleased with my bargain purchase.
I'd been a fan of At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta for a long time so figured it'd be worth giving Omar's solo career a go. I was aware that he'd made a couple of solo albums (but had no idea quite how many he'd go on to make). A friend of mine had tried one before but wasn't a fan - his words of warning were that he'd heard that Cedric was the one keeping Omar in check: the reason that The Mars Volta was listenable (and very enjoyable) was down to Cedric forcing Omar to make the music more accessible. Not sure how much truth there is in that, but between this and the other Omar solo album I have (on cd, very cheaply from a second-hand store) I can see it.
Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo isn't always an easy listen, but it isn't bad either (ignoring a few annoying moments like at the end of Lurking Around...). Three of the songs - Rapid Fire Tollbooth (preceded by two very short intro songs), the title track and closer La Tirania... - have Cedric on vocals, which adds something very enjoyable; they're almost Mars Volta songs in a lot of ways. The downside to having a few traditional "songs" on the album is that the guitar noodling and noise that Omar is aiming for often feels like filler; Thermometer Drinking..., sandwiched between two vocal-songs suffers the worst. However, when Omar really gets going, like on Please Heat This Eventually, (most of) Lurking About... and Boiling Death..., there are some really great moments.
Please Heat This Eventually is spread across both sides of the record, which is always a strange choice - I can only guess that Omar was more keen on maintaining the running order of the songs than he was worried about splitting the albums centrepiece and finest moment in half. The cut happens whilst the song is on a roll and the album suffers for it.
Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £7 new
Bought: Spillers
When: 15/01/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
