After the first "hiatus" taken from the El Paso legendary band, At the Drive-In, the band was split on two big groups that focused their creativity on very different ways. Jim Ward, along side Hinojos and Hajjar would start tackling post-hardcore with alternative rock on their band Sparta, bringing some rather decent projects along the way. However, the other half of the group, with Omar Rodriguez Lopez and vocalist Cedric Bixler Zavala would start diving into a rather extensive and layered career full of experimentation fronting their recognized progressive rock influenced project under the name of The Mars Volta. However, before getting to that point there was a point of transition that many fans seem to overlook. After big shows, during At the Drive-In's big days, Omar and Cedric, along side Ward's cousin, Jeremy Michael Ward, would begin performing small jam sessions, and after deciding to become a full fleshed project, going back and forth with some members, Omar brought Ikey Owens on keyboards and the first consistent line-up of De Facto was born. Since the band consisted mostly on live performances on their home town of El Paso, studio recordings seemed unlikely. However, in 2001 a series of official releases from the project came into light, presenting a series of interesting ideas that touched the Dub genre.
Reportedly, the band had a first short-pressed EP released under the new self-titled name in 1999 (that would be later re-released as the second EP from the band), but their first acknowledgement of a first official project would come in the form of 456132015 (also technically a self titled release, under a numerical code), released in March 2001. This first effort cemented the fundamentals that the rest of the releases would follow. It is the only De Facto release that featured an entirely studio clean quality to it, and also being the only release featuring Cedric on vocals, besides the use of Jeremy's and Omar's backing performances. What ended up being offered here were three calm and incredibly layered tracks, that let all the members get loose to experiment in many ways (after all, it was mainly a project driven by live jams). It also has a big importance when one tracks down the transition from At the Drive-In's energetic and punkish attitude to The Mars Volta's ambitious technical and kaleidoscopic sound bonanza.
Heavy focus of experimentation with atmosphere, with the blend of all the components to create a sort of surreal narrative that unveils with every passing moment (specially in both versions of 120E7, where Omar seems to be taking the role of someone who is asking for someone to call firemen due to the fire that is going around, and Jeremy's reverbed vocals on all three tracks, giving a rather unique and memorable feeling to his performance and the tracks). But there are some unique things that would start to shine from this project. In particular, Cedric and Omar's use of percussion to add flavor to the overall compositions, Owen's atmospheric keyboards, that sometimes have their own moment to shine and introduce themselves on a great and memorable way, and Jeremy's rather unique sound manipulation. What ended up being established from this early point was the rather laid back and experimental sound that was conveyed with each track, presenting De Facto as a project with unique performances from each member. Sure, Dub and Reggae were the predominant elements, but the latin and psychedelic influences were noticeable as well, ending up getting blended together on a really functional way. Omar's soft bass, Jeremy's soundscapes and harmonica, Isaiah's mesmerizing and subtle keyboards, and Cedric's rhythmic drums; they all managed to capture a really unique attitude that was presented on a consistent way, with tracks that didn't really aim to be masterpieces, just enjoyable tunes with trip-like layers put onto them. And a couple of months later, the band would expand on this concept even more with the release of their first full length album, ¡Megaton Shotblast!
De Facto's debut album is definitely a good example of what the band was as a whole. While the EP showed the potential of the band on studio with relatively short and "structured" tracks, ¡Megaton Shotblast! has a structure to it. A mix between tracks recorded live and the ones recorded at the members's home recording studios. All the elements found on the EP are expanded on their execution here, leaving space for extended jams and condensed tracks where the psychedelia comes into play. A lot of the elements found on The Mars Volta and even Omar's solo discography can find their roots here on a clear way. There is a bigger balance with the influences converging into the sound of the album, with big spaces for latin segments (later used by Omar on A Manual Dexterity) and atmospheric soundscapes that serve a lot of different purposes (things that would be used on De-Loused and Frances The Mute). There are also early signs of what would become a staple on the Omar projects to come, a great amount of collaborators to take place on different tracks, providing a big variety to the album's structure and flow.
It is safe to say that the thing that was more prominent here was the bigger involvement of Omar regarding the music. There is an evolution regarding his experimentation with atmospheric segments compared to previous projects he worked in, with the help of all the remaining members, but analyzing future projects led by him, one is able to feel the amount of creative input that the El Paso guitarist started to have on the music (something that would increase even more on the following years). But at this point, De Facto was more focused on creating live jams where the relaxing tone was the main event, something that ran through the entirety of the album. Of course, since its mostly jams, big improvisations with one basic idea to expand on for huge amounts of time, some sort of repetition in the instrumentation and mood can be found, but it is definitely not a bad album.
The album opens up with Manual Dexterity, a short introduction where Ward's sound manipulation and harmonica take the spotlight, with Cedric's reverbed drums and vocals start humming in in the background, definitely setting up the mood for the entirety of the project. Cordova is one of the live recordings present here, where over the course of ten minutes there is a bigger focus on atmosphere, with Owens putting a big focus on his keyboards, with dynamic segments shifting on tone and module, but still managing to showcase the talent from Owens on his respective instrument. Cedric's rhythm drums go incredibly well through the entire track, with some segments where all speeds up, with Omar's subtle bass almost fading in the background, and Ward's vocal sound manipulation helping with the atmospheric and relaxed soundscapes. It all gets expanded until fading slowly right on the end, where the bass is much more noticeable, and Ward's final vocal contribution closes everything, just to then hear the small audience clap.
One thing that is notable on the entire album is that tracks flow really well into each other. In the case of the presence of crowd noises or dialogue samples, it is not really noticeable or annoying, and it all goes really well despite the presence of the live tracks. El Professor Contra De Facto is where the latin and salsa influences can be much more palpable, with Alberto Aragonez being the main feature this time around due to his noticeable use of percussion driving the entire track on this very experimental line of dub with latin and jazz elements. Fingertrap is one of the shortest tracks and the one that can be used to show the De Facto sound executed on a great way, Owen's haunting keyboards, Cedric's simple yet effective drums, Ward's distortion on some parts of the sound (being felt specially on the end), Omar's background bass, the different elements in the percussion, and even a feature of David Lopez on trumpet; they all make this one simple and catchy tune, with surprising amounts of sound layers that manage to capture the listener on a great way. It all transitions to Descarga De Facto, the second live jam where all the elements on Cordova can be felt once again, just under a different, more melodic way, with less focus on the atmosphere presented (also letting the latin influences be noticeable on the keyboards).
Mitchel Edward Klik, despite feeling like a track that drags itself longer than it should, lives up to its name, presenting a more slowed down and sound manipulated song where everything goes into a dream like state, very psychedelic and laid down in tone (almost feeling like it recycles the previous tracks in order to provide certain samples). That leads to the third, and final, live performance found here, Thick Vinyl Plate. Despite being the shortest of the jams, it is still the weakest ones, mainly due to the fact that it is all presented on a rather rushed way, without fleshing out anything besides the atmosphere that Ward presents from the start. But still, it manages to be a very enjoyable and calm track. Coaxial is one of the longer studio tracks that tries to provide the same emotion as the live performances, having more in common with Thick Vinyl Plate than any of the other live jams, with the implementation of Owen's modulated keyboards and Omar's simple basslines at some points. Simian Cobblestone being one of the more straight forward tracks with the "De Facto sound" developing the atmosphere and letting every member have their respective moment over the course of the entire track and ending on a sudden way with Ward's vocal sound manipulation. The closer Rodche Defects, is one of the highlights of the album due to how well it manages to pull of the latin sound merged well with the dub elements so far, even getting to the point of Ángel Marcelo Rodríguez on vocals, Aragonez on percussion and Lopez on trumpet, providing a really complete track that fleshes out pretty nicely despite the relatively short length, ending the album on a high note.
De Facto's short length studio run was definitely something unique when it came out. All the elements presented make up for a relaxed project where the atmosphere and psychedelic elements are the main focus. The many influences from the band start coming into place on this project (and would be further expanded on The Mars Volta), with jams that don't aim to be something mind blowing or extremely technical/masterful, just calm and enjoyable tunes to let the mind float with the soundscapes being presented. You can see that live talent from the band right here, and then come to recognize the great way of how it was transmitted through this debut album. And despite the repetition or simplicity that is provided here, the talent displayed on every track can not be denied by anyone. The reggae and electronic elements get lost with all the unique sounds that are being implemented, creating an album with an identity of its own.
The members to what they have to do, having fun onstage, and crafting highly enjoyable music.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
Favorite Track: Rodche Defects / Fingertrap / Descarga De Facto / Cordova
Favorite Track: Rodche Defects / Fingertrap / Descarga De Facto / Cordova
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