Queens Of The Stone Age\u00a0has never had trouble holding attention. That\u2019s down to more than the riffs \u2014 it\u2019s the band\u2019s whole disposition, an eagerness to poke at the dark, the sexual, the surreal and the absurd without flinching. That combination of menace and charm is on full display on the band\u2019s ninth album,\u00a0Perfecth, due Oct. 30, 2026, via\u00a0Matador Records.<\/p>\n
The band shared the album\u2019s centerpiece today in the form of new single \u201cInsignificant Other.\u201d Recorded in just two takes, the second of which made the cut, the track finds the quintet playing loose, unpolished and locked into each other in real time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a song about distance,\u201d\u00a0Joshua Homme\u00a0says. \u201cAbout how someone can be your entire world only to simply vanish. And about the strange vertigo of being on the receiving end of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The announcement arrives alongside a\u00a0Chapman Baehler-directed video starring a dog named\u00a0Big Chongus\u00a0as a stand-in for the concept of \u201cperfecth.\u201d\u00a0Big Chongus\u00a0is joined onscreen by fellow dogs\u00a0Ruby Homme,\u00a0Max Homme,\u00a0Pumpkin Van Leeuwen,\u00a0Isabella Puppolini (Izzy) Van Leeuwen\u00a0and\u00a0Reesa Shuman, with the clip tracking whether he ever finds his perfect home.<\/p>\n
Homme\u00a0produced\u00a0Perfecth\u00a0alongside bandmate\u00a0Michael Shuman. The album will be released on CD and standard black vinyl everywhere, on clear vinyl through indie retailers, and as a limited deluxe gatefold LP \u2014 complete with handwritten lyrics, stationery, faux \u201cstamps\u201d tucked inside a custom envelope, and an original piece of art housed in its own pocket \u2014 sold exclusively through the\u00a0QOTSA\u00a0and\u00a0Matador\u00a0webstores.<\/p>\n
The album takes its cue from kintsugi, the Japanese practice of mending broken pottery with gold, which treats the repaired object as more beautiful for having been broken. That idea runs through\u00a0Perfecth\u00a0from top to bottom. Built from the evolving chemistry between\u00a0Homme,\u00a0Troy Van Leeuwen,\u00a0Michael Shuman,\u00a0Dean Fertita\u00a0and\u00a0Jon Theodore, its nine songs trace different shapes of love \u2014 for family, for friends, for people who matter and people who don\u2019t \u2014 and the way those loves can both wreck you and put you back together.<\/p>\n
Tracked across sessions from New Orleans to Los Angeles, the record ranges from fearless to unsettling, tender to strange.\u00a0Homme\u00a0describes the record\u2019s patchwork feel as intentional: \u201cEvery song sounds like it\u2019s from a different world. And that\u2019s on purpose, because it\u2019s trying to stitch together all these emotions revolving around love, lust, foolishness, and the sort of wisdom that comes as a gift from all that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The title itself comes from\u00a0Homme\u2018s decision that the word \u201cperfect\u201d never told the truth, since true perfection doesn\u2019t exist. So he broke the word apart and rebuilt it as \u201cperfecth\u201d \u2014 a spelling he felt suited the concept better.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing in this world is perfect, but everything seems to be \u2018perfecth,’\u201d he explains. \u201cAnd that title is funny when you\u2019re in a group, but it ain\u2019t so funny when you\u2019re alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new album follows a busy stretch for the band.\u00a0Queens Of The Stone Age\u00a0recently dropped \u201cEasy Street,\u201d featuring\u00a0Nikki Lane, a track first played live during last year\u2019s\u00a0Catacombs\u00a0tour and the band\u2019s first new song since 2023\u2019s\u00a0In Times New Roman\u2026.\u00a0Homme\u00a0has also kept busy outside the band, contributing to\u00a0Shania Twain\u2018s single \u201cFaded Blue Jeans\u201d and adding guest vocals to\u00a0Mastodon\u2018s \u201cSnakes For Dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Queens Of The Stone Age\u00a0picks back up its North American stadium run with\u00a0Foo Fighters\u00a0on Sept. 15, 2026, and has also lined up a fall headline tour across Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore. 2027 headline dates are expected in the coming weeks; fans can sign up here<\/a> for updates.<\/p>\n