Following the split of The Mars Volta earlier in the year and the news that the eclectic progressive rock band’s former frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala was at work on a solo album, it has now come to light that the solo LP Zavala was hinting towards is in fact the debut album of his new musical project, Zavalaz.
As Consequence Of Sound reports, the newly formed group will feature guitarist Dan Elkan (Them Hills, Broken Bells), drummer Gregory Rogove (Megapuss), and bassist Juan Alderete de la Peña (The Mars Volta, Racer X) along with Bixler-Zavala himself on vocals and guitar.
Despite the little information so far provided regarding the band, Zavalaz have formerly launched a new website featuring a series of American tour dates that will take place throughout June, touring with Dot Hacker and Ev Kain.
Consequence Of Sound further reveals that plans for a new album are also in place that Bixler-Zavala describes as featuring “lots of desert ballad space jams, lots of harmonies, lots of lap steel and piano. Lots of AM radio love songs. Short bitter sweet love songs. Be warned I’m not making a rock record. It might lightly rock but not like I’m known for.”
Zavalaz’ tour and album comes after the break-up of The Mars Volta as Bixler-Zavala hinted at the possibility of the release of a solo LP. The vocalist revealing that the new album “sounds nothing like my previous endeavours” and further stated on his twitter:
https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/329001295774117888
https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/334751864946040832
The news comes after a somewhat tumultuous year for Bixler-Zavala who’s featured heavily in music news after the split of The Mars Volta, the apparent rift between him and former bandmate Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and the rumours of another possible At The Drive-In reunion.
As reported on in May, despite the uncomfortable split between the two founding members of The Mars Volta, Rodriguez-Lopez revealed that the differences between he and Bixler-Zavala were more amicable than first thought.
Rodriguez-Lopez explained that there’s still hope for At The Drive-In fans, saying that the band are ” just trying to feel again when the moment opens up – where nothing is forced and nothing is an obligation.”
Rodriguez-Lopez showed no ill-will towards his former bandmate, saying “the band ended, but there’s still lots of music. Cedric has an incredible record coming out. We can look back on all the cool stuff we did together. It’s like At the Drive-In, with that realisation that when you’re working with someone, you’re at your absolute best. With The Mars Volta, I know for a fact now that the best stuff I did was because of what Cedric wrote. That’s what made it classic and memorable.”
In the meantime Rodriguez-Lopez is also currently working on his own solo project Bosnian Rainbows. He’s joined forces with Teri Gender Bender of Le Butcherettes and the group is set to be releasing a self-titled debut album on June 25h.
