Album Review
Queens Of The Stone Age - Era VulgarisQueens Of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris

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
 Band Members
Queens Of The Stone Age - Band
Joshua Homme (Vocals, Lead Guitar)
Troy Van Leeuwen (Guitar, Keyboards)
Joey Castillo (Drums)
Michael Shuman (Bass, Backing Vocals)
Dean Fertita (Keyboards, Guitar)
 Track Listing
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
 Band Related Links
Queens Of The Stone Age Myspace
Queens Of The Stone Age Official Website
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?