Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez

The song “Dream Sequence” pretty much sums up what’s happening on this debut by Mars Volta guitarist Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez, which is half of the soundtrack to a film he’s in the process of making. Ghostly drones swoop, then withdraw. Rattles shake ominously. Guitars wail and mumble, then lock into subliminal grooves or flame out. Honorary membership in the Buena Vista Social Club is sought. Sinister, distorted keyboards spook hard. Nothing is entirely coherent, and ideas aren’t adequately resolved. It’s all sort of a blurry mess. Closing your eyes and fading into A Manual Dexterity, you will (a) fall asleep, (b) enter a meditative state or (c) dream that the movie features a shirtless, gold-chain-wearing, jefro’d Rodriguez-Lopez strolling along a beach, playing his guitar like he’s making love to it and praying that nobody mistakes him for one of the Strokes.