At the Drive-In did something most bands can't do, but what is essential to a classic band; they found their sound, and then stretched it and took it places, instead of producing the same album over and over again, like Nickelback (weird comparison but I'm trying to get somewhere). With the
Vaya Ep, At the Drive-In went bold, beautiful, and with a funk backbone.
At the Drive-In was:
Cedric Bixler-Zavala- Vocals
Omar Rodriquez-Lopez- Left Handed Guitar
Jim Ward- Right Handed Guitar, Keys, Backing Vocals
Tony Hajjar- Drums
Paul Hinojos- Bass
The record begins with the jungle beats that make up the intro to
Rascuache. Jim Ward definitely takes advantage of his keyboard skills, churning out ambient ramblings that give the music some of it's most distinct beauty. The rhythm section of Paul Hinojos and Tony Hajjar is finally brought out in detail on this song. Tony has a very jungle like beat, and Paul's distorted bass line gives the song a very funky backbone. Finally, Cedric starts singing, with Omar playing a very undistorted rhythm. His Lyrics are unintelligible, but for some reason they strike an emotional chord with whoever listens. The chorus is one the band's best, with the quiet keyboard and now distortion coated Guitar working seamlessly together. The bridge shows Omar burning up the fretboard some more, before Jim and Cedric chant the line "Here comes the bride, here comes the bride, lavender and smothered in black turpentine.”
Proxima Centauristarts up with a nice Drum line, and, AGAIN, an incredible bass line, with Cedric simply speaking the lyrics "T-Minus, 10 seconds to go.” A queasy sounding guitar line breaks the mold, as the song gets tenser and tenser, until it breaks and the distortion coated riffs that Omar and Jim spew out take control, even to Cedric's screaming. The song carries on in the fast tempoed manner, until the intro is repeated, and Paul's bass line enters my mind. The song ends nicely as the final chords fade out.
Ursa Minor is similar to
Proxima Centauri, and has a U2esque chorus, that works effectively, even with the experimental verses.
Helitrope sounds as if it will be a fast paced song. It begins with Cedric ranting over a static guitar line, and a rather punk rock like Drum section. But it turns out that most of the song is drawn by the sprawling and melodic bridge. Helitrope seems to flow by, almost, because of the rambling guitar lines, and the bass flows with the song like a moody sister who doesn’t talk, but at the same time, it pulls the song together.
Menotrome Arthritis, however, ranks supreme on this record. It's something about the Pink Floydish vibe that carries the song, and the daydream like bass line that draws me in. It starts with the rhythm section pulling the band along, and the quiet, but challenging keyboards. That entire mixture creates a very distinct ambience, and sets the stage for Cedric's enhanced vocals. After a few lines, Cedric goes to his usual yelling over the demonic rhythm section. Two minutes and twenty seconds into the song, it gets quiet, with just the slight palm mute, before the Guitar, Bass, and drums go into a simple, yet effective rhythm, that is a bit happier sounding than the gloomy precedings. Cedric continues his singingtalking style until the song fades away. Next up is
300 Mhz. Just when you think the opening power chords mean a fast tempoed song, you're thrown back into the harmonizing fretwork and smooth basslines. But then you're given a whole new genre that At the Drive-In decided to throw into this song. Cedric enhances his vocals and shows an obvious funkefied Rage Against the Machine influence, minus the social revolution politics, (although it would've probably fit At the Drive-In well). The opening guitar turns out to be the chorus with Cedric yelling in between Chords, somewhat similar to the chorus in Fugazi's
Shut the Door.
The record ends with
198D, which is basically a counterpart to
Menotrome Arthritis. It begins with a synthish keyboard line. Incredibly simple, it is out of key with the rambling guitar and bass line. It stops and is replaced with the ambient keyboard once Cedric starts singing. His whispering style lets the song flow and flow and flow (very Indian Summerish), until it Jim screams "Walk Away!", as Cedric soulfully pours himself out. Once the second chorus ends, the band dies down, abruptly, to a single piano sequence, that follows Cedric's almost un-audible whispering. A guitar line quickly follows, but still as quietly as the piano. Abruptly, the tempo changes to fast mannered, with Cedric screaming as soulfully as he ever did on this record. The chorus picks up again, but ends, on a single note by the whole band.
Vaya is rather, hard to describe. In some cases (
Proxima Centauri, or
Ursa Minor), the band is experimental, and shows signs of Funk influences, especially with the bass lines. But on
Menotrome Arthritis and
198D, the band is soulful and very centered around Jim Ward's Piano. Another relevant sign, is that Omar's guitar work is very fast paced and similar to what he would do on
The Mars Volta's
Frances the Mute. In the end, however, I'm a little disappointed.
Vaya sounds like it could've been better. The production quality is down, but even with that, it still sounds like the band rushed through the recording. On the other hand, the band was in a transition between the frenzied Indie rock of
In/Casino/Out, and the sprawling Post-Hardcore of
Relationship of Command, so growing pains are evident. But all in all,
Vaya works much better than the normal transition record.
