Tremulant (EP)

Tremulant is the debut EP release by progressive rock band The Mars Volta, released on April 2, 2002, on Gold Standard Labs. Produced by Alex Newport, the EP marks the only appearance of founding bassist Eva Gardner until the release of The Mars Volta's self-titled album in 2022. A remastered version of the EP was released on April 16, 2014.^[6]

Tremulant
EP by The Mars Volta
Released	April 2, 2002
Recorded	October–December, 2001
Genre	Progressive rock, experimental rock, post-hardcore
Length	19:29
Label	Gold Standard Labs
Producer	Alex Newport
The Mars Volta chronology
Tremulant (2002) De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Drowned in Sound	(9/10)[2]
NME	(favorable)[3]
Pitchfork Media	(7.0/10)[4]
Stylus Magazine	B−[5]

Recording

Regarding the EP's recording sessions, bassist Eva Gardner stated in 2009, "We were in Long Beach somewhere, and it was a really exciting time because it was just this new music. It was a new project for these guys, so they were almost really excited about it. It was great. We did three songs, and it was so fun for me too because it was the first time I had actually been in a more professional... I had done recordings before, but it was just home studios with friends and stuff. This was a more established group. It was fun to be in a professional studio, and to play with really, really great musicians."^[7]

Song information

"Concertina", often regarded as the centerpiece of the EP, is rumoured to be a brutal condemnation of Ben Rodriguez, a former bandmate of Cedric and Omar's from At the Drive-In, whom Cedric and Omar regarded as a sociopath. According to interviews conducted with the band, they held Rodriguez responsible for tormenting Julio Venegas to the point where he committed suicide.^{[citation needed]} The band later re-recorded the song alongside "Eunuch Provocateur". (The re-recording of "Concertina" has yet to surface on an official release, however it can be listened to on YouTube).^{[citation needed]}

The backwards vocals at the end of "Eunuch Provocateur" are the lyrics from the song "Itsy Bitsy Spider". Other backwards vocals in the same song can be heard saying "did mommy or daddy ever have to spank you?". These samples come from an old LP the band used that contained children's songs. Other notable lyrics in "Eunuch Provocateur" include the lines, "Dethroned by the comatorium... de-loused by the comatorium", which foreshadow the Mars Volta's debut full-length album, De-Loused in the Comatorium. Additionally, the title of the EP itself is drawn from the concept story of De-Loused in the Comatorium, referring to the "tremulants", creatures that dwell inside the mind of Cerpin Taxt, the main character.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Cut That City"	5:43
2.	"Concertina"	4:54
3.	"Eunuch Provocateur"	8:48
Total length:		19:29

Production

• Recorded in Long Beach, California from October to December 2001.
• Produced by Alex Newport and The Mars Volta.^{[citation needed]}
• Album production design and layout by Sonny Kay and Omar Rodríguez-López.

Personnel

• Omar Rodríguez-López – guitar, percussion, electronics
• Cedric Bixler-Zavala – vocals, percussion
• Ikey Owens – keyboards
• Jeremy Ward – sound manipulation
• Jon Theodore – drums
• Eva Gardner – bass

References

1. Allmusic review
2. "Drowned in Sound review". Archived from the original on 2010-02-06. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
3. NME review
4. Pitchfork Media review
5. Stylus Magazine review Archived 2012-10-13 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Tremulant EP on Bandcamp". Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
7. "Eva Gardner: Pink 'Has Some Great Songs, And She Can Really, Really Sing' | Interviews @". Ultimate-guitar.com. 2009-11-16. Archived from the original on 2010-06-18. Retrieved 2012-03-12.