I know I'm a little late on writing this review, but I've been asked a lot what I think of this record, so I'm going to throw it out there.

Overall, the songs are different from each other and do seem pieced together oddly (mainly because it was done over extended periods of time and there were certain discrepancies between certain band members), but are cohesive and organic. "Noctourniquet" is a journey you're taken on song by song. It's truly a beautiful output the band has made, building upon their already genre-bending, musical clash of sounds and raw creativity. This album is focused mainly on the melodic spectrum rather than their wreckless ambition, such as in previous records (not that it didn't work). And the utilization of electronic composition and synth. But this is a very pleasant result.

Not all long-time fans will enjoy the change from the fast-paced, intense wrecklessness they're use to hearing, but I think they are benefitting from exploring the broader spectrum of their sound and exercising what they are capable of. With that said, not everything was gold on this album. There were a good hand full of tracks that were pretty spacious and were lacking some content. This by far isn't a highly essential The Mars Volta record, but overall I did and still do enjoy it. (Especially on vinyl)

What better way to close the album with the atmospheric track "Zen And Two Naughts", coupling heart-skipping beats and soothing synths, much like the rest of the record.

Rating: 3.5 to 4/5

Now don't get me wrong, I've been a long time fan of The Mars Volta, and I do really like what they've done on this record. I respect the journey they are taking with exploring their sound, but I know they can do better than this. They need to tighten up the work ethic and polish their process up a bit and strengthen the comunication with each other. If they do that and continue what they're doing, the next album will be fierce.