10 Memorable Rock Bands Who Only Released ONE Album

When the illustrious jazzy prog rock outfit The Mars Volta went on hiatus in late 2012, its quarrelling frontmen, Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, were at a bit of a loose end. Having spent their careers producing a constant flow of God-tier tunes for multiple projects simultaneously – solo, with the Volta and earlier as core members of At The Drive-In – they were built for music and knew nothing different.

This artistic void inspired both parties to round up some of their favourite musical collaborators and get back to work. Bixler-Zavala's group Zavalaz, which featured Volta compatriot Juan Alderete de la Peña, Dan Elkan from Them Hills and Gregory Rogove of Megapuss fame, never finished recording their only album (otherwise they might well have made this article).

Rodríguez-López, however, had better luck. Assembling long-time collaborator Deantoni Parks on drums, Nicci Kasper from KUDU on synths and keys, and the enigmatic Le Butcherettes frontwoman Teri Gender Bender, he created the experimental rock group Bosnian Rainbows and had their self-titled debut album out within a year.

The entire album was produced using analogue equipment and contains a driven art rock sound that left fans and critics alike keen to hear whatever was coming next. However, as the fates of the Volta alumni would have it, Bosnian Rainbows were not destined to last beyond this single record.

But more on that later.