Queens of the Stone Age prove they\u2019ve very much still got what it takes. For a band of this size and scope that\u2019s been around a while, their recent approach has been to adopt a late-career Iggy Pop-type sound that fits in with their \u2018Catacombs\u2019 set, tapping into the intimacy and daring structure of live shows that take things up close and personal, alongside millions of skeletal remains.<\/p>\n
Josh Homme has faced his own mortality. In the wake of emergency surgery that led to a series of cancelled tours, Queens of the Stone Age are back and they have regrouped. A darker awareness of mortality gives the music an underlying sense of the macabre, perfect for a release on All Hallows\u2019 Eve. These songs stitch emotions \u2013 love, lust, asking the audience where all the goth girls are at, etc. \u2013 together with a sense of wisdom that comes from having lived and experienced this personal trauma.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s Only Love\u2019 slows the pace down and exists in the catacombs as much as it does the arenas. It\u2019s about hanging onto hope and what comes with it \u2013 it starts out with him and his acoustic guitar, an elevated train running by, tapping into a lonely apartment in the worst years of his life. It\u2019s incredibly personal for Josh Homme, creating a sense of place and stakes almost instantly \u2013 this is a man that knows what it\u2019s like to come under the microscope and tells the world this is what Queens of the Stone Age are now: embrace it. They are creative. They are daring. They are trying again \u2013 the ten tracks burst full of life and sound, with experimental instrumentals that show you they\u2019re making up for lost time. It\u2019s different from even the \u2018Catacombs\u2019 live album. One might say it\u2019s an established rock band that\u2019s finally grown up \u2013 with some Cure-esque sleaze, especially on \u2018Where The Goth Girls At?\u2019 The album is, if anything, over too fast \u2013 I would have loved it if \u2018It\u2019s Only Love\u2019 went on longer than its runtime.<\/p>\n
The blues-esque ballads swing into Iggy Pop\u2019s Post Pop Depression-era territory, with mortality and a warcry; a redemption arc and a band that reminds you that yes, Queens of the Stone Age have very much not gone away. It\u2019s ambitious, exciting and daring \u2013 Songs for the Deaf was biblical in scope and this feels very much like their best record since that point, pushing in new, exciting directions. It\u2019s a sister album to the Iggy Pop record \u2013 both records feature \u2018Sunday\u2019 \u2013 and this one is groovy, catchy and irresistible, capturing the Iggy Pop feel whilst offering something entirely new, with a melody that switches up and keeps things exciting. Homme wears his inspiration on his sleeve, as if asking, \u2018What if David Bowie did an Iggy Pop cover?\u2019 The result is as fresh as you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n
\u2018From the Cliff\u2019 captures a torrent of overwhelming emotion that leads into \u2018Sunday\u2019 and then there\u2019s time for the easy, uplifting swingback of \u2018Easy Street\u2019. Perhaps the most classic callback is \u2018Phantom Limb\u2019, which feels right at home with peak Queens of the Stone Age in spirit and form, before the album cascades into closer \u2018Run Away from the Mob\u2019. This back-ending run of tracks is near perfect. It\u2019s hard not to admire the way \u2018Easy Street\u2019 dips into psychedelia at times with breezy synths.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019ve tried to make good art, but at times it\u2019s been a war,\u2019 Homme has said when promoting this album elsewhere. Well this time \u2013 Queens of the Stone Age and good art have won. The only downside is that this record is too short \u2013 thirty-six minutes \u2013 more would\u2019ve been welcome, but it lets you embrace its mellowness efficiently and effectively. The hooks take time to settle in, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a boring release: it\u2019s a band trying again. Yes, it won\u2019t work for everyone \u2013 this is not the traditional Queens of the Stone Age sound \u2013 but it hits hard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queens of the Stone Age prove they\u2019ve very much still got what it takes. For a band of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388044,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-388043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}