The track “Blacklight Shine” arrives after an art installation was revealed in LA’s Grand Park that allowed fans to preview the new music.
For the last couple of days, prog boundary pushers The Mars Volta have been tip of the tongue, unveiling their ‘Volta Cube’ in the heart of Grand Park in Los Angeles with the public art installation dubbed, “L’Ytome Hodorxí Telesterion”. Word of the attraction spread like wildfire with news that the experience also included new music from the duo of Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Fans were said to be waiting hours for their chance to see the installation.
The single “Blacklight Shine” arrives as the first delivery of new material since 2012’s Noctourniquet, the band’s final release before parting for the better part of a decade. In recent years there has been discussion about a potential reunion, though Bixler-Zavala has maintained that any effort would always be predicated on new material. He tweeted in 2018 “It’s happening” when asked about the potential Mars Volta resurgence and again in 2019 confirmed that movement was happening was Twitter.
In 2021, The Mars Volta reissued their back catalog on special collector’s edition colored vinyl. The 18-disc La Realidad De Los Sueños box set included all of the full length albums as well as early EP efforts like Tremulant and Landscape Tantrums. The set also featured a collection of demo cuts from the band’s celebrated debut album De-Loused In The Comatorium.
As for “Blacklight Shine”, the track emphasizes a heavily Caribbean style signature, compete with plenty of added percussion and vocals executed in Spanish. The track arrives with an accompanying short film directed by Omar Rodríguez-López that can be streamed below.
The launch of the single also trumpets a confirmed run of 13 live dates, the band’s first tour since their split in 2012. The North American trek kicks off in Dallas, TX on September 23rd and closes out with a headlining spectacular in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Palladium on October 21st. Tickets for the tour go on-sale June 24th at 10am local, with a special pre-sale happening June 22nd at 10am local – HERE
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