STRANGE TRAILS Books Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez return with the long-awaited sixth album from the Mars Volta

" Guitarist Ward Dotson--who had just replaced future Cramp Kid Congo Powers prior to the album's recording--goes toe-to-toe with Pierce

there are a few politically charged tunes

This was also Hardin's last American studio recording and one of the last records that he made before the physical consequences of his drug problem became obvious

a diversion to Belarus for Песняры and thence to Madrid for the strident vocal performance of Paloma San Basilio with 'Contigo' before hightailing back to Texas

STRANGE TRAILS Books Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-LopezOn their follow up, Strange Trails, Lord Huron settle into the Western themes and sense of open prairies that marked the band's debut, Lonesome Dreams. Frontman songwriter Ben Schneider fully embraces the American West Troubadour character, illustrated even in song titles like "Dead Man's Hand," "Meet Me in the Woods," and "The Yawning Grave." The album's lyrics tell haunted stories of adventure and survival ("On the night you disappeared Oh, if I had