Album Details

• Artist: Mars
• Album: Mars Lp
• Label: No More Records
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2008-08-08

Mars was one of those NYC No-Wave bands that helped take apart punk, give it an  angular, kinda sleazy

intellectual vibe, and pave the way for genres like New Wave and shoegazing that were much worse

than the original intention. Here, though, we can listen in on those  heady days when everything seemed

possible and the only people who werent in bands were those too  afraid to pick up an instrument.

Everything was possible, and all for the low low price of two chords!

Though the band made a significant appearance on Brian Eno's seminal "No Wave New York"

compilation, Mars didn't make much of dent before their demise."Mars" collects their complete studio

recordings from 1977-78, eleven tracks of atonal goodness that all sound as if they are about to

disintegrate into either noise or irrelevance. Yet, to their credit, for at best rudimentary musicians,

they did know when to end a tune, as well as to sense a moment when something interesting was

happening, and to let it happen. That deliberate trainwreck makes "11,000 Volts" and "3E" burst with

Velvets-esque tension. On all the tracks, especially on "Puerto-Rican Ghost," the dark, obnoxiously

droning bass of Mark Cunningham is the musical hero. The vocals tend to be screaming or whispered,

 and either grate or distract from the music. Guitarist Sumner Crane's lyrics are psychotic haikus,

which suits the tunes just fine.

 For a band that allegedly first picked up instruments only at their initial rehearsal, Mars cover a lot of

sonic ground, from Ubu-esque skronk to noise to ponderous art-jams. "Mars LP is a period piece, yes,

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