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You’ve got to respect Josh Homme. He has been delivering his trademark brand of rock 'n' roll music for ten years, constantly pushing the boundaries of his sound. Now, in 2007, he comes across as a man who is in complete creative control. The result is the fifth Queens Of The Stone Age album, Era Vulgaris.
The record features 11 tracks (+ bonuses) that are dominated by the trademark riffs and rhythms that the Queens are known for. However while 2005’s Lullabies to Paralyze occasionally plumbed some inaccessible depths, Era Vulgaris benefits from being a collection of songs with much tighter and more varied arrangements.
Lead single ‘Sick, Sick, Sick’ demonstrates this perfectly – it’s all crunching guitars and driving percussion. Coming in at just 3½ short minutes, it is a bristling, melodic juggernaut – each cry of ‘Sick, Sick, Sick’ answered with the seductive drawl, ‘...don’t resist’. The track also has the added twist of Julian Casablancas of The Strokes on vocals.
And the good news... this album is no one trick pony.
Before you can get comfy with any one of the QOTSA manifestations, something new will come along and pique your interest all over again. This moment may occur when you hear the psychedelic garage rock of ‘3’s & 7’s’, with its hopelessly addictive swirling guitars. Or it may occur when they strip it all back on ‘Suture Up Your Future’, with it’s hazy, tripped out feel. But what is a given is that something will reach out and grab you, and this is the feature that sets Era Vulgaris apart from the pack.
Now while this may not be the quintessential QOTSA collection (there are a couple of misses here), this is definitely a must for fans, both old and new.
Essential Tracks
Sick, Sick, Sick
3’s & 7’s
Suture Up Your Future
Full Track Listing
1. Turnin on the Screw (5:20)
2. Sick, Sick, Sick (3:34)
3. I'm Designer (4:04)
4. Into the Hollow (3:32)
5. Misfit Love (5:39)
6. Battery Acid (4:36)
7. Make It Wit Chu (4:50)
8. 3's & 7's (3:34)
9. Suture Up Your Future (4:37)
10. River in the Road (3:19)
11. Run, Pig, Run (4:48)
12. Running Joke (2:57)
13. Era Vulgaris (4:23)
14. The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died (6:55)
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