This demented slice of gutter-blues is the first single from The Mars Volta's sixth studio album, Noctourniquet. The song, along with several others from the album, was debuted live in spring 2011 during an Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group tour. It was released on February 14, 2012.
Noctourniquet is a concept album inspired by the Greek myth of Hyacinthus and the 19th century nursery rhyme about Solomon Grundy. Vocalist Cedric Bixler Zavala explained to Classic Rock: "It's about embracing life for what it should be. There's a view of the elitist lifestyle - that being an artist is unattainable. I'm trying to write this story that reminds people that we're all artists."
Mars Volta are renowned for their hard-to-decipher lyrics and reviewers have struggled to explain how such lines from this song as "Rats in the cellar forming a vermin of steps," connect with the concept of the album.
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