On November 17th, "Them Crooked Vultures" dropped their first full length under Interscope Records. The trio of Zepp's John-Paul Jones, all-over-the-place drummer Dave Grohl, and Joshua Homme (QOTSA, Kyuss, etc) actually formed in 2005 but have finally decided to drop this bomb on us this year.
The album can be summed up with the title of it's second song "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)", as this album really gets to the point early and doesn't let up. It actually sort of gets stronger toward the end, though I'm hesitant to say that, considering the hard-as-nails songs in the early portion of the record (especially the opener "No One Loves Me and Neither Do I", and "New Fang"). You can blatently hear each of the members contribution to the songs, such as "Warsaw or...", where the verse is something out of a Queens tune, with a tasty Zeppelin lick in between. Homme is strong throughout, with vocals that rock the room but sometimes spook you out a bit, a pleasant mixture of what he's done before (I won't lie, I'm a pretty big Josh Homme fan). The bass and drum combination of Jones and Grohl is such a treat. It's really really... really... really rare to hear a bass/drum combo like this on records these days, so expect to blown the fuck away when you listen for it. The song "Gunman" at the end of the album will seriously make you want to drive your car right off a cliff, in a good way.
If you've ever enjoyed anything by Homme before, give this album a serious listen and you shouldn't be disappointed. It really is a hard-rock fan's dream come true for this year. I don't like to use genres too much, but if this isn't hard rock, then someone let me know and I'll shut this bitch down right now. A better genre fit might be "hard-as-f#CK!N NAILS".
Warning: Driving the street with this album in your speakers may result in "The Chase" with Charlie Sheen. If you're one of those people who walk down the street with your Ipod blasting, you may be forced to kick a few midgets.
Standout: "Scumbag Blues", "No One Loves Me and Neither Do I"
Something else I just listened to: "My Kind of Soldier" - Guided by Voices
razzler
