April 21, 2023 – The Mars Volta have officially released ‘Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazón’ – an acoustic and reimagined version of their 2022 fan and critically acclaimed comeback album ‘
The Mars Volta’.
Much more than a simple “un- plugged” version of ‘The Mars Volta’ – the bands self-titled seventh album and return as a band – this acoustic rendition furthers the mission of the source music, which drew into sharper focus the traditional Latin influences that have always inspired Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala. This is, says Rodríguez- López, The Mars Volta’s version of a “folk record”, tracing the melodies and rhythms of the parent album back to their traditional Caribbean roots and challenging listeners to hear the group in an entirely new light.
The upcoming new album isn’t simply more content, but a bold, radical, political album, and one that recontextualizes the music of the group’s powerful last album within the lineage of the Latin and Caribbean sounds that Rodríguez- López has been mining his entire career, only many ears couldn’t hear past the distorted guitars to know what was going on. The songs are re-orchestrated and set to the traditional Caribbean rhythms that Rodríguez-López grew up on. Here, “Black Condolences” becomes an object lesson in this music, segueing be- tween three different traditional rhythms across its three-and-a-half minutes.
‘Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon’ track listing
- Blacklight Shine (Acoustic)
- Graveyard Love (Acoustic)
- Shore Story (Acoustic)
- Vigil (Acoustic)
- Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon (Acoustic)
- Cerulea (Acoustic)
- Flash Burns From Flashbacks (Acoustic)
- Palm Full Of Crux (Acoustic)
- No Case Gain (Acoustic)
- Tourmaline (Acoustic)
- Equus 3 (Acoustic)
- Collapsible Shoulders (Acoustic)
- The Requisition (Acoustic)
For Rodríguez-López, ‘Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazón’ is a long-held dream, finally coming true. “I realized I could finally make a record like this now, I just had to make it happen,” he says. “That was the experiment. And it was super-fun. I feel like The Mars Volta is finally beginning – that’s why the last album was self- titled, because we’ve finally stripped everything away and arrived at what the whole concept was at the beginning. And this acoustic version comes from a profound place, with its own meaning and philosophy, and its own reason for be- ing.”
The Mars Volta are set to headline upcoming shows that will take place this May and include performances at Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta, Welcome To Rockville Festival in Daytona, FL and a show supporting Red Hot Chili Peppers in San Diego, CA. Tickets on sale now at
www.themarsvoltaofficial.com.
Today the band has announced additional headline dates set to take place this fall. A full list of upcoming dates below. The dates announced today will go on sale Friday, April 28 at 10AM local time. Tickets and more information is available at
www.themarsvoltaofficial.comThe Mars Volta – Upcoming headline tour dates
May 5 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA (Shaky Knees pre-show)
May 6 – Shaky Knees Festival – Atlanta, GA
May 9 – The Criterion – Oklahoma City, OK
May 10 – Revel – Albuquerque, NM
May 12 – Snapdragon Stadium – San Diego, CA w/ Red Hot Chili Peppers, Thundercat
May 13 – Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ
May 14 – Abraham Chavez Theatre – El Paso, TX
May 16 – Tech Port Center & Arena – San Antonio, TX
May 18 – Orpheum Theatre – New Orleans, LA
May 19 – 713 Music Hall – Houston, TX
May 21 – Welcome To Rockville Festival – Daytona Beach, FL
Tickets on sale for below dates on Friday, April 28 at 10AM local time.
September 13 – Uptown Theater – Minneapolis, MN
September 15 – GLC Live at 20 Monroe – Grand Rapids, MI
September 16 – Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
September 19 – The National – Richmond, VA
September 20 – Rams Head Live! – Baltimore, MD
September 22 – Kings Theatre – Brooklyn, NY
September 25 – MTELUS – Montreal, QC
September 27 – Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA
September 29 – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall – Louisville, KY
September 30 – The Andrew J Brady Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
October 1 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
October 3 – The Factory at The District – St. Louis, MO
October 8 – Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO
October 9 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Denver, CO
October 11 – The Union Event Center – Salt Lake City, UT
In celebration of Record Store Day 2023, the band’s highly celebrated singles “Frances The Mute” and “The Widow (live)” have been re-mastered and will be available on vinyl exclusively at participating record stores worldwide.
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Formed by guitarist/composer Omar Rodríguez-López and singer/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, The Mars Volta rose from the ashes of El Paso punk-rock firebrands At The Drive-In in 2001. On a mission to “honor our roots and honor our dead”, The Mars Volta made music that fused the Latin sounds Rodríguez-López was raised on with the punk and underground noise he and Bixler-Zavala had immersed themselves in for years, and the futuristic visions they were tapping into. The albums that followed were one-of-a-kind masterpieces, their songs of breath-taking complexity also possessing powerful emotional immediacy. After the group fell silent, a legion of devotees (including Kanye West) kept up an insistent drum-beat for their return.
