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Review |
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A warm welcome back to Josh Homme and the Queens, two years is a long
time to wait when you’re craving your next fix from the masters
of sex, drugs, rock and roll and repetition. There’s nothing that
can be said about Queens of the Stone Age that hasn’t been said
before.
Fourth Studio album Era Vulgaris follows the platinum selling yet slightly
frustrating ‘Lullabies to Paralyze’ amongst speculation they
had gone ‘Garage Rock’, surely not?
‘Turnin’ on the Screw’ begins and it is undoubtedly
Queens, its all there, grinding guitars, thumping rhythm, and oh yes,
the toe tapping, fist throwing, head-blowing repetition.
Following the hot on the tail of swaggering the opening track comes the
joyously distorted rock out ‘Sick Sick Sick’ that reminds
of what Queens are here for, and that’s to go nuts and blow our
heads off. This’ll do nicely then, with a little help from The Strokes’
Julian Casablancas, having the two coolest men in rock on the same track
is quite an achievement.
After another couple of grooves in the form of ‘I’m a Designer’
and ‘Into the Hollow’ the latter featuring a classic QOTSA
guitar lick comes ‘Misfit Love’. It’s an irresistible
track, heavy, repetitive and violent, its like all Rock and Roll songs
should be. Someone pass me the Jager.
The highlight of the album is the ironically titled ‘Make It Wit
Chu’. What did happen to the pussy cat dolls anyway? It’s
like nothing you’ve ever heard from QOTSA before, but then, what
is? This is the track on the album that makes me sit back and appreciate
just how great this band really is. There’s just about everything
in ‘Make It Wit Chu’, bells, piano, guitar solo, smooth R&B
timescales, Falsetto Vocals.
As if we needed a reminder, Homme kicks the listener in the ears again
with 3’s & 7’s, the pre-released single, a rollocking,
dirty rock and roll track with trademark vocals and a disjointed riff.
Ending the album with ‘Run Pig Run’ ensures we don’t
trail off into a noodling prog-rock washout that dampened the magic of
the first half of ‘Lullabies’, it’s a real parting shot,
exploding in miniature bursts before turning into a nursery-rhyme style
rock off in the final third.
In reflection, an album of this magnitude makes you wonder where we would
be without Queens of the Stone Age. With each release, Josh Homme pushes
the boundaries and keeps on delivering, the man truly is a designer, to
quote ‘Make It Wit Chu’;
‘I ain’t here to break it, just to see how far it will bend,
again and again’. Well said there Mr Homme, its working perfectly,
but keep bending for us for as long as possible.
5/5
Review by Jakk |
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| Band
Members |
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Joshua Homme (Vocals, Lead Guitar)
Troy Van Leeuwen (Guitar, Keyboards)
Joey Castillo (Drums)
Michael Shuman (Bass, Backing Vocals)
Dean Fertita (Keyboards, Guitar) |
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| Track
Listing |
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1. Turning On The Screw
2. Sick, Sick, Sick
3. I'm Designer
4. Into The Hollow
5. Misfit Love
6. Battery Acid
7. Make It Wit Chu
8. 3's & 7's
9. Suture Up Your Future
10. River In The Road
11. Run Pig Run
12. Running Joke
13. Era Vulgaris |
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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